Jill Collen Jefferson
Jill Collen Jefferson is an African-American attorney, who is the founder of the civil and human rights organization Julian.[1] The organization is named after civil rights movement leader Julian Bond, who was Jefferson's mentor. She concentrates on civil rights cases, in particular recent alleged lynchings in Mississippi. "The last recorded lynching in the United States was in 1981, but the thing is, lynchings never stopped in the United States. Lynchings in Mississippi never stopped. The evil bastards just stopped taking photographs and passing them around like baseball cards."[2][3]
She is the daughter of T.J. and Carolyn Jefferson of Hebron, Mississippi. She earned a bachelor's degree with distinction at the University of Virginia, where she double majored in English and history and minored in French. She earned a law degree at Harvard Law School and previously worked as a political speechwriter, serving as one of four speechwriters on President Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, as chief speechwriter for Texas's pro-choice gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis, and as chief speechwriter at Organizing for Action, where she wrote remarks for then-President Obama, among others.[4]
Controversial statements[]
She drew criticism for her interpretation of the U.S. Constitution during a live interview on the political talk show PoliticsNation with Al Sharpton on MSNBC on August 28, 2021.[5] She stated that a women's right to abortion is implied by a constitutional right to privacy. By comparison, she contended that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly provide an individual the right to bear arms but that that individual right, like the right to choose, is implied.
References[]
- ^ Willingham, Leah (May 23, 2021). "Black man's death in Mississippi: Lynching or suicide?". The Toronto Star. Associated Press. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ Brown, DeNeen L. (August 8, 2021). "'Lynchings in Mississippi never stopped'". Washington Post. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ Starr, Terrell Jermaine (August 9, 2021). "8 Suspected Lynchings Have Taken Place in Mississippi Since 2000". The Root. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- ^ Collen, Jill (September 4, 2020). "Hebron leader leaves legacy with children, community". The Leader-Call. Jones County, Mississippi. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
- ^ Job, Anita (September 1, 2021). "Attorney guest on Sharpton's show on MSNBC says pro-life people are like 'a suicide bomber,' reasoning that both believe they can "mess up" someone else's life for the greater good". Law Enforcement Today. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
External links[]
- Official website
- Kelly, Mo' (April 11, 2021). "Attorney Jill Collen Jefferson and the Modern Day Mississippi Lynchings (Interview)". mrmokelly.com. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
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