October 30, 2026
Mississippi Museum of Art
380 South Lamar Street
Jackson, MS 39201
The Justice Brunch continues the Social Justice Empowerment Experience with a morning dedicated to meaningful conversation, thoughtful dialogue, and civic engagement. Building on the inspiration of the Champions of Justice Dinner, this signature event brings together advocates, community leaders, students, and engaged citizens to explore the issues shaping Mississippi’s future, including voting rights, civic engagement, and the role each of us can play in protecting democracy and advancing justice.
Join us on Friday, October 30, at 10:00 a.m. at the Mississippi Museum of Art for a dynamic program featuring timely conversations on issues impacting our communities and our democracy. Through an engaging panel discussion and interactive dialogue, participants will hear diverse perspectives from leaders, advocates, and emerging voices working to create meaningful change across Mississippi.
The Justice Brunch is designed to move the conversation beyond the stage. Following the featured discussion, guests will participate in facilitated table conversations that encourage thoughtful exchange, collaborative problem-solving, and deeper connections with others who are committed to strengthening civic participation, advancing equity, protecting voting rights, and building more resilient communities.
Whether you are a longtime advocate, an emerging leader, or someone looking to become more engaged, the Justice Brunch offers an opportunity to learn, ask questions, exchange ideas, and leave inspired to TAKE A STAND.
As the second signature event of the Social Justice Empowerment Experience, the Justice Brunch reinforces the weekend’s commitment to education, collaboration, and collective action, creating space for conversations that inform, challenge, and inspire.
Harya Tarekegn is a civil rights attorney and public policy strategist who has spent her career at the center of the country’s most urgent fights for racial and economic justice. Born in Ethiopia and shaped by a life lived across continents, she believes real change is built when lawyers, organizers, and communities move together.
She currently serves as Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Mississippi Center for Justice, where she leads the programmatic work of the organization encompassing Health Justice, Housing Law, Economic Justice, Education Equity, Voting Rights, Heirs Property, and Impact Litigation programs. In this role, she helps set the legislative agenda and policy goals, grows new policy leaders, and leads targeted statewide advocacy campaigns. Her work is grounded in a community-centered approach to dismantling racist policies across Mississippi.
Before joining MCJ, she was a leader in New York City government and served in senior leadership roles at the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB), the nation’s largest civilian police oversight agency. As Senior Counsel to the Executive Director she advised Board leadership on strategic initiatives, led the Policy and Advocacy Unit, oversaw the Communications Department, and drafted and championed legislative and policy reforms to address policing and police misconduct. She managed the roll out of the Right to Know Act, the public release of police misconduct records, and the first ever youth advisory council, convening, and report on interactions between the NYPD and young people.
Earlier in her career, she served as Executive Director of Moreno Ocampo LLC, a hybrid legal and consulting firm focused on mass atrocity accountability, international conflict resolution, and global business integrity—including work on Yazidi justice advocacy. She also practiced complex civil litigation at Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, where she handled securities litigation, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations, False Claims Act matters, and mass tort litigation, while maintaining an active pro bono practice in immigration and criminal defense.
She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law, where she was a research assistant to Professor Meg Satterthwaite and a Development Chair for IRAP, and her B.A. in International Relations with a focus on Human Rights from Stanford University, including a year of study in Paris. She is admitted to practice in New York and Mississippi and is proficient in Amharic and French, with working knowledge of Spanish.
Rob McDuff is a civil rights and criminal defense lawyer who directs the George Riley Impact Litigation Initiative of the Mississippi Center for Justice. He was one of MCJ’s founders in 2003 and served on its board for many years.
Rob joined the MCJ staff in 2017 to lead the newly formed George Riley Impact Litigation Initiative. Under his leadership, Impact Litigation has undertaken a variety of matters, including cases involving voting rights, free speech, reproductive rights, and a seminal case criminal justice case securing the freedom of Curtis Flowers, who endured 23 years in prison in Mississippi despite significant evidence of innocence in a case marked by extreme prosecutorial misconduct.
Before joining the MCJ staff, Rob built a private practice in Jackson, which began in 1992, focusing on criminal defense and civil litigation, primarily civil rights, in Mississippi and elsewhere. Even after joining MCJ, he continues his private practice part-time, representing clients outside of MCJ’s portfolio in criminal cases and some civil cases.
Rob has argued four cases in the U.S. Supreme Court involving civil and constitutional rights and has represented clients in a variety of matters over the years. He has received many awards, including the William Robert Ming Advocacy Award of the national NAACP; the Frederick Douglass Award of the Southern Center for Human Rights; and the Pro Bono Service Award of the International Human Rights Law Group.
A native of Hattiesburg, Rob is a graduate of Millsaps College and Harvard Law School.
Arekia S. Bennett-Scott has dedicated her life to liberatory work in the Deep South for and with Black women and girls. For more than 15 years, she has worked to build self-sustaining communities across Mississippi through a Black, queer feminist vision that centers human dignity and the belief that all people deserve the conditions to live full and thriving lives.
She currently serves as the Executive Director of Mississippi Votes and Mississippi Votes Action Fund. Since its founding in 2016, Mississippi Votes has registered more than 100,000 voters and engaged thousands of young people across the state through civic education, organizing, and leadership development. Its sister organization, Mississippi Votes Action Fund, advances policy advocacy and strategic organizing efforts aimed at expanding voting rights and building the next generation of civic leaders in Mississippi.
Arekia’s work to expand democracy in the South has been recognized nationally. She is a recipient of the Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom Award and the NAACP Medgar Evers Award. In 2021, she was named an Emerson Collective Fellow and received the Unita Blackwell Justice Award. That same year, Mississippi Votes was recognized as Community Organization of the Year in Mississippi.
In addition to her leadership at Mississippi Votes, Arekia serves as Board Chair of the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute.
Perhaps the role she is most grateful for is being a wife and mother. She is married to her best friend and the love of her life, Timothy T. Scott III. Together they are raising three incredible children: a curious baby, a spirited toddler, and a pre-teen who loves
Aminata Ba is Mississippi’s 2026 Truman Scholar and a senior at the University of Mississippi studying Public Policy Leadership and Spanish. She currently serves as a Voting Engagement Ambassador at the University of Mississippi, where she has spearheaded record-breaking civic engagement initiatives on campus and in the Lafayette County community.
As a Voting Engagement Ambassador, Aminata has helped to register hundreds of students to vote through creative civic campaigning events. In 2024, she launched the university’s first “Voter Friendly Competition,” a civic participation event that led to the highest voter readiness pledges in the SEC for 2024 at 1,700 and contributed to a 10 percent increase in voter registration in Lafayette County. Through other initiatives such as establishing rideshare programs to the polls and organizing Freedom Summer remembrance trips for community members, Aminata has worked to educate and empower our electorate.
In previous years, she has worked as a Migrant Rights Intern in Dublin, Ireland, a Policy & Government Affairs Intern for Emerson Collective, a student fellow with Mississippi Votes, a consultant for United Nations Women, and a youth delegate for the World Health Organization.
As a proud Mississippian, Aminata draws inspiration from the region’s long legacy of activism and spirit of hospitality. She plans to attend law school to become a public interest attorney serving marginalized communities in Mississippi and advancing voting rights for all.
For sponsorship opportunities:
Tosha Taylor • ttaylor@mscenterforjustice.org • (601) 709-0859
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The Experience includes the Champions of Justice, Justice Brunch, and The Great Mississippi Road Trip
