Breonna Glover has had her eyes set on a career in law since she was a child. Growing up in a military family and living overseas opened her eyes at a young age to how the law impacts people’s lives. Dinner plates rested on placemats with random facts about U.S. presidents and her favorite book is Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird.”
So, it’s no surprise that when she went to college at George Washington University, she majored in in criminal justice. While there, she served as a student conduct justice, volunteered with Rev. Al Sharpton’s nonprofit, the National Action Network and joined the Black Student Union, helping spearhead social justice efforts on campus. That time on the ground made her realize that interacting one-on-one to help clients and informing public policy is where her passion lies.
After graduating from GW, she says she chose Georgia State College of Law because of the expert faculty and friendly environment. This semester, she’s honing her skills to standup in the face of injustice and preparing to get real world experience with clients through the HeLP Clinic in the spring.
Given your experience with social activism in college, what drew you toward policymaking and law, as opposed to moving away from it?
It is a battle to decide which way you want to go, but it’s not a detriment to learn the law. I knew when I went to law school this was a necessary step to do what I actually want to do, which is advocacy. One thing that drew me to Georgia State is how welcoming and non-traditional the school is. They don’t pit you against each other and all of the professors are so helpful. I have been lucky enough to have teachers who teach outside of the confines of what you’re supposed to learn. I had Professor Tanya Washington for Civil Procedure and I am in her Educational Law class.
I am also currently in a 10-week course called The Justice Initiative that is headed by Harvard Law School’s Systemic Justice Project and Howard University School of Law’s Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center. We meet every Saturday, and we hear from students, practitioners, professors and others to discuss ways to address injustice. One of the things that has stuck with me is that you can try to reform the system in it, or you can be outside of the system and disrupt it to get what you want. I’m still trying to decide where I want to be, but I think it’s important to learn how the system itself operates in order to make that decision and properly affect change.
Right now, you are the diversity & inclusion coordinator for the Georgia State chapter of the American Constitution Society. How did that come about?
It’s a new role that they started this semester. It came about because of recent events, [including the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and Breonna Taylor]. I applied because the role is to make sure that we’re incorporating diversity & inclusion into all of our events. I remember ACS did a joint panel with the Black Law Students Association and the Federalist Society about reparations. I like making sure that all voices and all sides are heard.
What legal issue do you think more people should be paying attention to?
Education is connected to so many social issues. If we can get at least one state to have an ideal model, it can change more than people think. The biggest issue in education is that it’s not a fundamental right. It varies state-by-state. In Georgia, we guarantee an adequate education. What does that mean? A high-quality and accessible education for everyone should be a requirement for a first-world country.
Interview by Kelundra Smith