Pendley Hau named as next Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellow
NEWS RELEASE – May 28, 2024
Contact: Alan Richard, arichard@southerneducation.org or 202.641.1300, or Danielle Smith, dsmith@southerneducation.org, 470.705.9365
ATLANTA – Emory University School of Law student Camille Pendley Hau will serve for two years in the prestigious Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellowship in education and civil rights at the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) and Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
Awarded to third-year law students and recent graduates, this two-year fellowship prepares early-career attorneys for work in education advocacy, supporting the interest of students of color and students living in poverty in the American South.
The fellowship, awarded every two years, is administered by SEF and SPLC, two leading nonprofit organizations that work to improve educational opportunities and defend civil rights in the U.S.
Pendley Hau, a native of Atlanta, is only the second recipient of the fellowship. She will succeed Harry Chiu beginning this fall.
She holds an undergraduate degree in international affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology and will graduate from the Emory University School of Law in May. She has volunteered as a court-appointed special advocate for 2.5 years, working to ensure students’ access to a high-quality, inclusive public education.
“Camille’s wealth of knowledge, passion for equitable education, and her impressive background and experience will serve her well as the Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellow,” SEF President and CEO Raymond Pierce said. “The important work she will be doing at the Southern Education Foundation and Southern Poverty Law Center will help achieve education equity for more students in the South.”
While working as a policy analyst for Voices for Georgia’s Children, Pendley Hau met with state leaders, other leaders in education and local school officials, and with community members to discuss urgent needs and bring people together to build and strengthen more equitable education policies in the South. This work helped fuel her decision to pursue a career in law.
“The SPLC, alongside the Southern Education Foundation, was delighted to offer the Lynn Walker Huntley Fellowship to Camille Hau, a dedicated young lawyer with an impressive background speaking truth to power as a journalist and serving as an advocate at the intersection of racial justice and children’s rights,” said SPLC President and CEO Margaret Huang. “I’m thrilled at how this fellowship continues to build the pipeline of bright civil rights attorneys pushing for justice and equity in the South. Lawyers like Camille are the leaders our region needs today and in the future.”
Pendley Hau’s fellowship will begin in September and will focus on education equity-related advocacy through research, policy analysis and litigation in five key states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
The Lynn Walker Huntley Social Justice Fellowship recognizes the important legacy of the trailblazing lawyer and civil rights advocate who served as SEF’s first woman president from 2002 until her retirement in 2010. She also worked on the landmark Furman v. Georgia case at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which invalidated all legal constructions at the time for the death penalty in the U.S. She also was the first Black woman to lead the Special Litigation Section in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. By reflecting Walker Huntley’s lifelong commitment to education justice, this fellowship provides strategic support for the broad civil rights community and carries forth that mission into the future.
For more information about the fellowship, please visit: https://www.southerneducation.org/projects/lynn-walker-huntley-social-justice-fellowship/.
# # # #
The Southern Education Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization supported by partners and donors committed to advancing equitable education policies and practices that elevate learning for low-income students and students of color in the southern states. We develop and disseminate research-based solutions for policymakers and grow the capacity of education leaders and influencers to create systemic change.
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people.