Kansas City non-profit boosting law careers of young Phoenix students of color Super Bowl weekend

This Super Bowl weekend, JustUs System, a non-profit based in Kansas City, Missouri, is collaborating with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Arizona and Safe Schools Teen Court to host a Future Black and Brown Lawyers workshop for students.

Ranging in ages from 13 to 20, some 70 students from the Valley as well as some from Kansas City are participating.

The workshop features a day in which the students present oral arguments at the Arizona Court of Appeals, a tour of the Chase Field to work with professional sports general counsels, and a scholarship and award auction to celebrate the students.

Phoenix students with the JustUs program say it allows them a chance to prepare for their futures by expanding their professional profile and providing scholarship opportunities. They say it will help them fulfill their goals and help their communities.

Super Bowl guide:Prediction, date, ticket prices, performers

In 2016, the annual Future Black and Brown Lawyers camp was created to address the lack of Black attorneys, despite the racial disparities that African Americans face in the criminal justice system, according to JustUs System's website. What's taking place in Phoenix this weekend is a condensed version of the camp, giving scholarships to students who have an interest in a law career.

On Friday, students will present opposing oral arguments in front of a panel of judges after reviewing the sports law case, NCAA v. Alston, which reviewed whether college athletes should be paid. The top performing students will receive an award during the scholarship auction on Saturday.

JustUs System was founded by Natasha Scruggs, a licensed juvenile defense attorney who represented students in juvenile detention in Missouri. She wanted to help prevent young people from entering the juvenile justice system, so her foundation's methods give young people an opportunity to participate in the law through the topic of sports.

Super Bowl 2023 in Arizona:Man arrested in $100,000 NFL Experience theft

Sports is used as the vehicle to teach kids law, civic engagement, and ways to promote change. Scruggs said her team uses sports because a lot of their kids say they want to be professional athletes. It's way for them to be able to take care of their families, she said. But JustUs System gives them another way to look at it.

"We show them a new pipeline where they can still be engaged in sports," Scruggs said, referring to the slim odds of getting a pro sports contract. "They may not be a professional sports athlete, but they can still take care of their family and not have just a 0.01% chance."

JustUs System follows its students throughout their careers until they pass the bar or enter another field, she said.

Scruggs said they make sure their students have a professional platform by the time they are 13. Because of that, the students participating in this week's activities are going to be able to get their headshots taken.

With the program being brought to Phoenix, two Valley teens participating in this week's activities see the importance of the opportunity it brings them and their future.

"With what's been going on in the news lately with African Americans in particular, too many of us are dying from police brutality," said Meleah Hamilton, 18, of Phoenix. Hamilton says she wants to study criminal justice and has already received a scholarship through Arizona Black Law Enforcement for her work in teen court. But to get where she wants to be in her future, she needs more funding.

"I want to be the solution to the system."

Braeden West, 17, also from Phoenix, has already been offered to play baseball in college. West believes that he will have an advantage in the negotiation process to know what to look for and not get taken advantage of.

Outside of his athletics, West feels this gives him more awareness.

"It gives me different topics to generate with my parents and my friends about the world we live in," he said, "Especially as a Black man, it just helps me know the types of laws in the world and how I cannot be taken advantage of."

To learn more about JustUs System, visit justussystem.org.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Non-profit holds law workshop for students on Super Bowl weekend