Allyson McKinney Timm Speaks on Equal Rights and Justice -- Dean's Speaker Series

Allyson McKinney Timm, the founder and executive director of Justice Revival, spoke at Pepperdine Caruso School of Law on January 20 as part of the Dean’s Speaker Series and in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The event was sponsored by the Nootbaar Institute in recognition of the institute’s 2022 theme, “A Community of Peacemakers.” McKinney Timm is a human rights lawyer, scholar, and faith leader who defends the dignity and rights of those on the margins, in the United States and globally. Her work promoting justice and equality has spanned the nonprofit, private, and academic sectors. After founding Justice Revival in 2017, McKinney Timm was named “one of ten faith leaders to watch” by the Center for American Progress the following year.

In her remarks, “Why Equal Rights?: The Story Behind the #Faith4ERA Campaign,” McKinney Timm shared how her personal spiritual journey led her to the crucial struggle for constitutional equality. She reflected on the interrelated struggles against racial and gender oppression, the connections between movements for liberation at home and abroad, and the significance of Dr. King’s legacy for the human rights movement today. 

McKinney Timm spoke about her past involvement with Caruso Law in defending the rights of widows in Uganda. Her human rights work caught the attention of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who invited her to visit the Court in recognition of the goodness and logic of her endeavors. She is guided in those endeavors by Dr. King’s admonition that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

McKinney Timm encouraged the audience to not just identify injustice elsewhere, but to see clearly the culture of injustice in the United States. She advocates a public voice of faith support for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment as a basic human rights reform that will ensure full equality for women, and for all people, under the U.S. Constitution.

Following her remarks, McKinney Timm answered questions posed by students about how to advance in the rights of women as part of the human rights movement, particularly in the context of Christian communities.

The mission of Justice Revival is to inspire, educate, and mobilize Christian communities to the call of justice by standing in solidarity with the oppressed and defending the human rights of all. Additional information may be found at Justice Revival.