Derechos y Esperanza – Rights and Hope: ASU Law Civil Rights, Migration and Workplace Law Initiative

Daniel Ortega, a double Sun Devil and nationally recognized civil rights activist, reflects on growing up in Phoenix and navigating a segregated public school system that held low expectations for Latino students, tracing his path to the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and a career shaped by courtroom and community battles — including successful challenges to SB 1070 and Maricopa County immigration sweeps — while explaining how those fights built on earlier civil rights coalitions, sparked new community leadership and continue to matter today, alongside the music that inspires him and what gives him hope.

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

Fatima Goss Graves, a nationally recognized civil rights and gender justice leader, discusses her path to advocacy, the impact of recent government shutdowns and why the affordability of health care, housing and food remains a core civil rights issue, while also reflecting on the music that inspires her and the sources of hope that sustain her work.

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.

Warren Stewart reflects on his journey to Arizona in the 1970s as a young minister, placing his work within the history of Black migration and human rights advocacy in the state, recounting his leadership in the six-year, multiracial campaign to secure recognition of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday after its repeal and explaining how that victory empowered broader movements for justice, from later challenges to SB 1070 to ongoing activism, while also sharing the music that sustains him and what gives him hope.

This podcast is for educational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the host and guests and do not reflect the views of Arizona State University or the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Nothing discussed should be considered legal advice or a substitute for professional counsel. All errors are the responsibility of the speaker.