Humanitarianism in Action

Jahmel Martin '16

Photo by Carl Socolow '77.

Passion for social justice leads Jahmel Martin 鈥�16 to prestigious fellowship

by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson

A class at Dickinson, coupled with an internship in a public defender鈥檚 office, led Jahmel Martin 鈥�16 to view social-justice issues from new angles. Now, he鈥檚 preparing to take that line of inquiry to Copenhagen, Denmark, as a recipient of the 2015 Humanity in Action (HIA) fellowship.

Awarded to just 42 candidates this year鈥攐ut of a pool of approximately 700 top undergraduates and recent grads from 11 countries鈥攖he HIA fellowship builds a platform for small teams of young scholar-activists to meet and examine the social and political roots of discrimination, with an eye toward identifying potential solutions to social injustice today. This year鈥檚 fellows will connect at a conference in Washington, D.C., before heading to one of five European cities鈥擯aris, Warsaw, Amsterdam, Berlin or Copenhagen. For five weeks, they鈥檒l live with a host family and attend daily lectures by renowned activists, journalists, policymakers and leaders in nonprofit, government and community organizations; the fellows will then attend an international conference and present what they鈥檝e learned.

The goal is to strengthen individuals鈥� commitment to protect minorities by building networks of student-leaders and potential mentors, all interested in promoting and protecting human rights via various avenues. It鈥檚 an issue close to Martin鈥檚 heart, and one he has explored personally鈥攁s a student of color, a graduate of an urban, public school and the son of a once-incarcerated parent鈥攁s well as intellectually, as a Posse Foundation scholar at Dickinson who quickly distinguished himself among his peers.

Named one of two 2013 recipients of Dickinson's annual Schumann Prize鈥攄esignating him as the top-performing male student in his class during his first year on campus鈥擬artin was introduced to the academic study of social justice during a social-analysis class with Assistant Professor of Sociology Helene Lee. He went on to major in American studies, with plans to study human rights in a national context, and set his sights on the HIA fellowship during his sophomore year at the urging of a mentor.

When he didn鈥檛 make the cut on first try, Martin sought out advice from the Posse Foundation and from Dickinson鈥檚 Career Center, which led to a summer position as an investigative intern with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a fall internship through the , in the Rockville, Md., public defender鈥檚 office.

鈥淭hrough both of these experiences, I was able to explore social issues that disproportionately affect minority groups in the U.S. and the government agencies constructed to combat certain issues such as employment discrimination and the abuse of the law against indigent populations without legal representation,鈥� says Martin.

As he prepares for the HIA fellowship, Martin particularly looks forward to co-presenting his HIA team鈥檚 findings at the sixth-annual Humanity in Action International Conference in The Hague, a three-day event that will tackle the city's role as the world's epicenter of political, social, peacemaking and reconciliation engagement.

鈥淚鈥檓 very honored by this opportunity,鈥� says Martin. 鈥淭his fellowship will connect me with the right people to find proper solutions and create more inclusive global communities.鈥�

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Published April 23, 2015

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