Burns Chair Keynote Lecture: Lessons in Movement Lawyering from Local to Global

April 12, 2024, in his final lecture as Burns Chair, Vince Warren explored the local and global impact of two cases from the Center for Constitutional Rights’ environmental and mass incarceration advocacy.

Using cases from the Center for Constitutional Rights’ environmental and mass incarceration work, Warren discussed models of leveraging spheres of influence despite apparent obstacles. First, he shared lessons from decarceral efforts currently being led by formerly incarcerated advocates in Pennsylvania and presented to the U.N. in Geneva in relation to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He then went on to detail an experience amplifying grassroots environmental activism from the area of Louisiana known as, “Cancer Alley” – to application with the United Nations and the Biden Administration.