Episode Four of The Pledge introduces Ashley Smith. Ashley ran to become a District Judge in rural Lowndes County, Alabama, where the court system reflects the same all-white power structure it has since before the civil rights movement. Inspired by her grandfather and dedicated to providing justice for everyone regardless of race, Ashley drove hundreds of miles and shook thousands of hands to get her message out.

Listen to The Pledge as Ashley tells her story of the ongoing struggle for equal rights and justice in the footsteps of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march for voting rights.