Morehouse College recently welcomed Justice Albie Sachs, renowned anti-Apartheid attorney, human rights activist, and former Justice of South Africa’s first Constitutional Court, for a powerful conversation on the role of law in advancing justice, freedom, and democratic ideals.
A survivor of imprisonment and political violence under South Africa’s Apartheid regime, Justice Sachs has devoted his life to the rule of law as a tool for liberation. His visit to Morehouse offered students and faculty a rare opportunity to engage directly with a global architect of constitutional democracy whose personal sacrifices and professional achievements underscore the moral responsibility embedded in legal practice.
Justice Sachs reflected on his journey from political exile and incarceration to helping shape South Africa’s post-Apartheid Constitution, a document widely regarded as one of the most progressive in the world. He emphasized that constitutions are not merely legal frameworks, but moral compacts rooted in human dignity, inclusion, and reconciliation.
In conversation with Oprah Winfrey Scholars Chris Lambry, John Gwynn, and Cameron Gaskins, Justice Sachs shared lessons on resilience in the face of injustice and the long arc of struggle required to transform oppressive systems. Drawing from his lived experience, he encouraged students to view the law not as an abstract institution, but as a living instrument capable of restoring humanity and fostering unity.
The discussion also explored Justice Sachs’ landmark judicial opinion supporting marriage equality in South Africa, a decision that helped expand civil rights while reinforcing constitutional values of equality and respect. He spoke candidly about the importance of legal strategies that seek to heal divisions rather than deepen them, stressing that justice is most powerful when it invites society forward together.
Throughout the conversation, Justice Sachs returned to a central theme: that the pursuit of justice demands courage, imagination, and an unwavering commitment to human dignity, even in moments of profound adversity.
His visit resonated deeply within the Morehouse community, reinforcing the College’s enduring mission to develop leaders committed to ethical leadership, global citizenship, and social transformation. For students aspiring to careers in law, public service, and advocacy, Justice Sachs’ presence served as both a historical lesson and a call to action that challenged them to carry forward the work of liberation through principled leadership and compassionate justice.