L. Joy opens class with reflections on Brooklyn’s Dance Africa festival and the importance of taking a break, before turning to the central theme: the role—and limits—of the courts in advancing justice. She notes how people increasingly view the judiciary as the ultimate arbiter of the nation’s values, citing recent Supreme Court decisions and public reactions. However, L. Joy cautions that courts have historically upheld the status quo, especially for Black and marginalized communities, referencing landmark cases from Dred Scott v. Sandford, Brown v. Board of Education and Mendez v. Westminster. She brings Janai Nelson, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) to the front of the class to break down the four major pillars that span their work: political participation, criminal justice, economic justice, and educational equity.