Everybody got their story. What does yours say? Flashback – it’s your junior year of high school. You’re in honors classes. Getting ready to apply to colleges. Then BOOM. Gunshot. Handcuffs. Tears. Stigma. You’re on trial for felony murder. You’re 17 so you’re housed in an adult maximum security prison. Many of the men around you have been there more […]
“Area Code 7-2-4”
If you could choose to live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? “Do you plan to move back home to practice law?” “What made you move to Georgia from Pennsylvania?” “Where is your family?” “You moved down here by yourself?” Those are some of the questions I’ve heard over the past 8+ years of living in […]
“There’s No Justice; It’s Just Us.”
Do you think the criminal justice system in America is flawed? Please explain. I have been an attorney for almost 5 years. I have been working in the criminal justice system (CJS) longer than that. In law school, I spent 3 semesters interning at the public defender office where I now work. After law school, I spent my first year […]
“A Rose That Grew From Concrete”
What is one of your favorite quotes/mantras/bible verses? I didn’t “find God for myself” until my freshman year of college. … It was then that I made the conscious decision to get up early Sunday morning to get ready for church, regardless of what I did that Saturday night. It was then I began to fall in love with Jesus, […]
“Are We Standing Silent or Standing Up?”
Have you ever been discriminated against or witnessed discrimination against someone else? Discrimination can come in many forms. We are all aware of racial discrimination, especially with how prevalent it is in the news and the media. But what are the other bases of discrimination? Discrimination, noun: “the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially […]
“A Delay is Not A Denial: The Road Less-Traveled”
Do you know where you are, where you are going, and how you are going to get there? Today, we are going back to 5 years ago. February 2016. But, first, let’s go back a little further than that. I didn’t make the decision to go to law school until my junior year of college. (I talked more about that […]
“Abracadabra! Hocus-Pocus! Let’s Reveal the Magic!”
What is your favorite city on this planet? This post is going to require you to do a little activity. When I say (when you read the word) “GO!” I want you to take 30 seconds to do the following: Close your eyes and picture the city or town where you call home. Imagine the streets. The homes. The businesses. […]
“Simply Becoming: Public Defender. Community Advocate. Black Queen”
What is one “random occurrence” in your life that you’d always be grateful for? As I’m listening to Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming, I can’t help but notice how much God showed up in her life. If you read (or listened to) her book, you would know a lot about her – from her childhood, how she grew up, how her […]
“That’s Worth Highlighting! — Moni Jay’s 2020 in Review”
What’s one of your highlights from 2020? Post it in the comments! Here are my top 20 highlights from 2020, in no specific order: 1. Hosted my very first Vision Board Party and created a vision board for the first time. I was so hype for 2020 and what I had planned that I needed to host this vision board […]
“Don’t Look Up, You’ll Be Too Amazed!”
Are you happy right now? I am 30 years old and I began my career at the age of 25. Prior to that, I was a student. I began working at the age of 17 and held a job, either full-time or part-time as I was obtaining my degrees. I was baptized at a very young age, grew up as […]