The Importance of Voting Rights in Our Communities

Derwyn Bunton is the Southern Poverty Law Center’s chief legal officer. He is responsible for the strategic direction of the SPLC’s litigation to ensure that every case its attorneys pursue advances the organization’s four key impact goals: fighting to protect our democracy, dismantling white supremacy, eradicating poverty and ending mass incarceration. Previously, Bunton led the Orleans Public Defenders office in Louisiana, where he drew attention from state and national media for his dogged defense of indigent defendant rights. Bunton received his bachelor’s degree in political science from San Diego State University and his law degree from New York University School of Law.