Harvard Defenders Litman Symposium | What We Will Build: Service, Stories, Community, and 75 Years of Harvard Defenders

The future is something we shape every day through the communities we build, the people we serve, and the stories we share. For 75 years, Harvard Defenders has embodied this through our commitment to working pro bono cases in the Boston area. This symposium is an opportunity to highlight the stories of the communities we serve here in Boston and imagine together the world that we might build, as we build it daily.

This event will bring together justice-impacted individuals, advocates, artists, and the Harvard community to engage in meaningful discussions around justice, storytelling, and community building. Through a dynamic program featuring film, conversation, poetry, spoken word, and music, we will explore how the fight for justice has evolved over the decades and how it continues to shape the world we are building together.

We are honored to feature Onyx White, a local rap artist who was incarcerated at the age of 16 and is now breaking out in the local music industry, alongside other local poets and creatives. Their voices and experiences remind us of the power of storytelling in building a more just and equitable future.

Rather than simply looking back, this symposium is an opportunity to come together in service and imagination, to continue shaping a world where justice and community thrive.