At this week's Round Table, Emmanuel, Hannah, and Heba spoke with Esmeralda Simmons, Fellow in the Advanced Leadership Institute at Harvard University and Founder of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, a community-based racial justice advocacy center that focuses on legal work and research on civil rights and domestic human rights violations. Ms Simmons is an accomplished lawyer and public servant who has spent decades fighting for human and civil rights on the federal, state, and municipal levels. Recently retired, she advocated for equity in public education, voting, policing and the child welfare system as the Center’s executive director for 34 years. Through the Center, Simmons provided community organizations with legal counsel and research assistance.
In this episode, we explored the work she did PRIOR to founding and directing the Center for Law and Social Justice: Ms. Simmons served as First Deputy Commissioner at the New York State Division of Human Rights, where she developed and led the implementation of policy in support of New Yorkers’ human and civil rights, and as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York. In addition, she has served on several major public boards in New York City government, including the NYC Board of Education and the NYC Districting Commission.
Outside of this work, Ms. Simmons also volunteers her skills and currently serves on the board of directors of UPROSE, a climate justice organization; the Council of Elders for African Cultural Heritage; and Little Sun People, an African-centered early childhood education center. In the recent past, served on the Boards of several national organizations: the Applied Research Center (now “Race Forward”); Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center; the Child Welfare Fund; and, the Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC).
Ms. Simmons has also served as counsel or co-counsel on numerous major federal Voting Rights Act cases and election law cases and has secured victories before the United States Supreme Court. She is a member of the Metropolitan Black Bar and American Bar Associations, Ile Ase, Inc., and the New York Voting Rights Consortium. Esmeralda Simmons is certainly an irreplaceable member of many communities including, now, of ours. Thank you for listening!
