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Parris wins Ellison Prize
By CSLR | Emory Law | May 3, 2018 12:05:00 AM

Amanda Parris (JD/MTS 2018) received the Eliza Ellison Prize for Leadership in Law and Religion.

The prize was created in 2009 to honor Eliza Ellison, who served many years as the Center’s Associate Director and later Director of Publications. The award, made possible by the generosity of the faculty, staff, current students, alumni, and friends of CSLR, is awarded to a graduate who has shown special initiative in leading law and religion studies within and beyond the classroom.

Parris is pursuing a career as a legal activist and has focused on law and religion issues, particularly issues facing religious minorities. She has also worked in race and voting rights, indigent criminal defense, and immigrants' rights.

In 2017, she organized and moderated a panel at Rebellious Lawyering Conference, also known as RebLaw, at Yale Law School. Panelists discussed the ways Muslims have struggled to safeguard their basic rights against government surveillance, oppressive legislation, and bias-based attacks. She focused on the proposed Muslim ban, possible changes to the Countering Violent Extremism Program, and the uptick in hate crimes.