World-renowned architect Frank Gehry uniquely designed LMU Loyola Law School for the study of law. And it is evident in the state-of-the-art classrooms that serve as courtrooms, the vibrant outdoor spaces that encourage the exchange of ideas, and in the community that it all fosters. Let our Student Ambassadors tour you around and explain why the LLS campus is special to them.

At 8 a.m. every Monday, Jessica Manos ’27 drops her 5-year-old off at school in Phoenix. Then she drives about 350 miles to LMU Loyola Law School in downtown Los Angeles for her classes in LMU Loyola Law School’s (LLS) Hybrid JD Evening program.

“I get to Los Angeles at about 2 o’clock, and then I have class from 6-10,” Manos said. “Then I drive home the next morning, and I’m back in Phoenix in time to pick up my kids from school at three.”

She can live in Phoenix and go to law school in Los Angeles because “Loyola has this amazing program that only requires you to be on campus for one day a week,” she said. The regular one-night-a-week commitment is augmented by virtual coursework.

“It’s really doable for me and my family,” Manos said. “I love the program, and I feel like I’m getting a really good education.”

Loyola’s Hybrid JD Evening Program has consistently been ranked the top part-time program in the West by U.S. News & World Report.

Manos was drawn to a career in law by an important issue. A native of Chicago, she went to college in Boston and then founded a real estate development company in Connecticut. She was living in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012 when a young gunman murdered 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School there.

When she and her husband later sold their businesses and moved to Phoenix, she helped start a chapter of the national gun violence-prevention organization Moms Demand Action. By 2017, she was leading the Arizona state chapter.

In that role, she led the chapter in advocating for legislation to remove guns from people convicted of felony domestic abuse. “It was a really narrow law,” Manos said, because existing law already prevented those abusers from buying new guns.

The chapter worked hard to pass the bill, which had bipartisan sponsors and bipartisan support. But one legislator killed the bill in committee. “That really upset me,” she said. “I thought maybe instead of begging people to pass good laws, I’ll write them myself. And so I decided to go to law school.”

Actually, Manos had been thinking about law school since she was 8 years old. But with four children born within six years of each other, it wouldn’t have been easy to make the time. It finally became possible once her youngest started school.

Now, after one year of Loyola Law School classes, she is very impressed by the school, her colleagues, and the professors. “I’m enjoying the classes very much,” she said. “I think our professors are very talented. They have been able to take subjects that I thought would not be very interesting and make them engaging and relevant.”

She added that she is impressed by her classmates as well. “I love the kind of people this program is attracting. Everyone is talented and is doing really interesting things. It’s a privilege to learn with this group.”

Although she was drawn to law school by social issues, Manos is not sure what she’ll do after she graduates in 2027. “I came into it thinking public policy, but I’ve gotten great feedback on oral arguments that we’ve done. So now I’m thinking about potentially doing litigation.”

Might she run for office in Arizona? “I worked on a congressional campaign last year and I loved it, so, yeah, that might be a possibility,” she said.

When her diabetic son’s elementary school told her it could not help him monitor his glucose or even give him juice when needed, Kari Cox ’26 knew she needed to be available for him during the day.

But after having worked nearly two decades alongside attorneys at the Irvine Company and an independent hotel group, Cox had determined to become a lawyer, too. The challenge for the South Orange County executive and mother of two: How to do both?

The solution for her was LMU Loyola Law School’s Hybrid JD Evening Program, which has consistently been ranked the top part-time program in the West by U.S. News & World Report. Because classes are held in the evening, she is available to help when her son needs assistance at school. And because of its hybrid structure, she only needs to commute one night a week (Mondays) to the law school’s Frank Gehry-designed campus in downtown L.A. She participates in classes online one additional evening each week.

“I was very blessed to get into Loyola Law School,” Cox said. “The hybrid program was very appealing to me because it meant that I would be able to minimize the amount of driving I would have to do but also be able to get a great education.”

Another aspect of the program she values is that many of the students are like her, people with established careers. “They’re there with purpose and goals in mind,” she said.

After earning her undergraduate degree in Orange County in 2005, Cox went to work for the Irvine Company managing its high-rise office buildings, where she collaborated with company attorneys on contracts, evictions and other matters. After several years there, she moved to the hotel company, eventually rising to be its director of finance, again working closely with in-house counsel.

As her career was blossoming, she discovered “the injustice of how people are not willing to take care of someone in society.” Later, she discovered the power of a law degree.

Her older son, now 9, was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes when he was just 1. After school officials denied her request to assist him with basic needs like orange juice, she approached them again with an attorney.

“My attorney looks at them and says, ‘What my client is trying to say is that he really needs juice in the event that he goes low,’ and then the school goes, ‘Oh, well, that’s OK. We can give him that,’” she said. “Just the presence of an attorney being there apparently seems to make a big difference.”

Cox hopes that after she graduates in two years, she can advocate for disabled children in schools. “I am blessed to be able to have an attorney able to represent us to make sure my son is as safe as possible.”

Many other parents of disabled kids don’t have attorneys, she said. “There’s a void. I want to be able to help them because there are too many people whose kids have been put in dangerous situations” at school.

To help her achieve that goal, Loyola Law School is home to The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy and Innovation, which offers fellowships and other programs to advance the lives of people with disabilities.

Cox said she also loves real estate transactions. “If I can figure out a way to do both of those, that would be my dream scenario,” she said. “Right now, I’m just going for the law degree with the intention to advocate for people … whose kids deserve an education.”

In the meantime, thanks to Loyola’s Hybrid JD Evening Program, she can be in school with her son when he needs her.

For many years, Sarah Swensen ’26 was focused on caring for herself and her family. Now, she’s pursuing law school as well to fulfill her calling to advocate for victims of discrimination and systemic racism.

Swensen is finishing up her second year in the Hybrid JD Evening Program at LMU Loyola Law School (LLS), which allows students to earn a top-ranked JD in four years with a regular on-campus commitment of one night a week. No stranger to alternative schedules, she received her GED after dealing with health issues that required more than 10 surgeries from age 16 to 26. She then worked in finance for 10 years so she could pay her medical bills and also support her elderly parents, who are both cancer survivors. In 2017, she donated a kidney to her father. The living donor transplant process felt like a full-time job at times, she said.

“I’m fortunate enough to have the privilege of taking care of my parents after they took such good care of me,” Swensen said. She continues to care for them today.

After several years of taking night classes at Orange Coast College, Swensen transferred to Cal State Fullerton and graduated with a degree in sociology while working as chief operating officer of Redwood Lending Services, a boutique finance company.

She had always wanted to be a lawyer, Swensen said, but thought it was out of reach. She’s appreciated the role of advocates since her teen years, when her medical conditions were often ignored because she was a young woman, and during her career in finance, where she experienced sexism.

However, the 2016 presidential election and events in the years that followed, such as the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements and the antisemitic rallies in Charlottesville, inspired her to do more than go to protests on weekends and talk about the issues with friends.

“If you have the calling to be an advocate, you owe it to yourself and to others to answer that calling,” she said.

Drawn to Loyola’s hybrid program, which allows her to commute to campus from Irvine just once a week and continue working full-time to support her family, and Loyola’s social justice programs, prestigious faculty, and reputation for developing successful attorneys, Swensen says she has never been more challenged – or more fulfilled.

“From the faculty, who are incredibly supportive and encouraging, to my colleagues who are now some of my closest friends, the people are the best part of the program, hands down,” she said.

Swensen urges others who are joining the legal field as a second career or are juggling work, family, and other responsibilities to take the leap and pursue their JD at Loyola Law School. She’s seen how all students receive the tools they need to succeed – which, for Swensen, may be as a civil rights litigator or policymaker. “Whatever I decide to do, I know LLS will get me there.”

Determined to help others and make a difference in the world, Amal Sardesai ’24 traveled the globe, learning and working, sharpening her skills, and expanding her perspectives. Those remarkable experiences fueled her inspiration and led her to Loyola Law School where she discovered her true calling, serving families in Los Angeles. She parlayed her wealth of experience into a job at Wasser, Copperman, & Mandles, the family law firm made famous in part by partner Laura Wasser ’94. 

Helping People on an Multinational Scale

Her journey began with a decision to go overseas, attending the prestigious London School of Economics to study conflict resolution. “I was really interested in comparative politics and international relations,” she says, “and I planned to some day work for an NGO or nonprofit.” From London, she landed an opportunity to work in Beirut conducting research for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The center provides in-depth analysis of the political, socioeconomic, and security issues facing the Middle East and North Africa. Amal was given the opportunity to work on conflict resolution research for Kurdistan and Iraq. “Beirut was a beautiful and diverse city, full of history,” she says. “It was an incredible experience, and it made a lot of sense for me, given my background and interests, to have international work experience. I enjoyed the research, however I was craving more hands-on interaction.”

Returning to the United States, she was offered a job in D.C. working for AECOM Technology Corporation, a leading global infrastructure consulting firm dedicated to uplifting communities with sustainable solutions in architecture and environmental engineering. Amal’s conflict resolution studies and experience abroad were good preparation for her work on complex international contracts to build irrigation canals in Afghanistan. The U.S. aid-based project involved her operating on the ground as a project manager with government officials, contractors, and Afghan farmers. “It was very fulfilling,” she says. “I got to work on the front lines helping farmers develop a source of income to make their lives better, send their kids to schools, and create a sustainable existence. I got into this work because I wanted to make a positive impact in the world.” Working with the complexities of a multinational conglomerate, she realized that if she wanted to be truly effective in the long run, she would need to deepen her skill set with further education. She resolved to pursue an MBA and apply to Law School.

“I knew immediately that LLS was the real deal. They really practice what they preach.”

Pursuing a Law Degree for More Impact

Loyola Law School’s reputation and emphasis on public interest were significant factors in her decision to attend. “With all my professional and international experience, I knew immediately that LLS was the real deal,” she says. “They really practice what they preach. They’re not just coming in and teaching a class, a lot of them are successful practitioners who are on the front lines of public interest law every day.”

“This is what LLS means when they talk about community.”

The community at Loyola had a major impact right from the start. She had recently married, and four days before second-year classes started, she gave birth to her son.  “I really wanted to continue and not take time off,” she says. “My professors were so accommodating. I was able to do the first few weeks from home, watch lectures and keep up with my schoolwork, then return to campus when my son was a little bit older, which made a world of a difference. I never felt like I was a number. The professors are real allies. They even share their personal contact information with students if they need to get in touch, which is honestly amazing, this is what LLS means when they talk about community. They even created a pumping room when I needed a private space to feed my baby! And students continue to use that resource today.

 

Finding Purpose at Home

An opportunity to intern at the Dependency Court Mediation Assistance Clinic within the Loyola Center for Conflict Resolution was a transformative experience.

Sara Campos, director of the clinic and professor, became an important mentor. “She really helped me discover my true calling,” says Amal. “I knew I wanted to work in the pro bono space and I have always been interested in mediation. I was given the perfect opportunity. The clinics really help you develop and hone your skills and interests. We worked on real court cases with parents and visitation agreements for their kids. The final exit from dependency court is an all-day process. These families don’t normally have the resources to get this kind of help and advice. On that one day you really have a tangible effect on peoples’ lives for the better, and you can see the impact you’re making on a daily basis.”

“I never thought I would become a lawyer,” Amal reflects. “However, my experience at LLS introduced me to my true passion and shifted my perspective. It was eye-opening. While I’ve been able to travel and do amazing things worldwide, my next chapter is right here in Los Angeles, where I can make a difference in my own backyard. I realize the importance of this work, especially as a parent myself. Public interest law and mediation are the driving forces that will help me truly make a meaningful impact in the world, and I am committed to continuing my work at the clinic, where I can assist families from marginalized communities in the region to help them realize better lives for themselves and their children.

Poet, activist, humanitarian, and soon-to-be lawyer, Emily Bernstein has always been driven to decode a chaotic world and help others with her work. From Los Angeles to Jerusalem, to Salt Lake City, and back, she charted a path to find her passion for justice and international human rights, eventually landing in a community of like-minded scholars and practitioners at Loyola Law School with access to the most impactful legal clinics in Los Angeles, dedicated to social justice.

Coming of age in a technology-driven era that revolutionized communications yet brought about complex challenges with misinformation, polarization, privacy, and mental health, Bernstein initially found solace and purpose in writing. “I am a poet by trade,” she says. “When I write poetry, I can put voice to whatever I’m feeling. It helps me find my own voice inside the chaos of the world.”

The Arts as Universal Translator

With early aspirations for a career in publishing, Bernstein first set out to pursue studies in English and Writing at Chapman University, in Orange, CA. Initially, her writing focused on themes of mental health, yet as she advanced academically, she found herself increasingly drawn to coursework in political science, which soon began to inform and enhance her creative efforts. “Art in itself is political,” Bernstein contends, and as she delved deeper into political science, she began to recognize the profound interconnections with her artistic passions. Enrolling in a course that required the study of theory, exploration of landmark Supreme Court cases, and the development of her own legal arguments, further piqued her interest. Eventually, she found herself immersed in a transformative international human rights course that completely altered her academic and professional trajectory.

Just as language and poetry had served to help her translate disorder into meaning, international law seemed to have a similar potential. “Finding the human connection in the chaos is what law becomes for me. I can better understand how we got where we are now not just by studying the rules, but how they’ve been put to use in real peoples’ lives over the years. Constitutional Law is a great example — building from a set of best intentions through interpretation is where the truth surfaces and humanity comes to life.”

“Building from a set of best intentions through interpretation is where the truth surfaces and humanity comes to life.”

At graduation, with a thesis consisting of over 40 pages of pointed political writing and poems on topics such as mental health, Israeli politics, international criminal courts, and religion, Bernstein had made an important decision; she would go on to study Law. However, before taking the LSAT and applying to schools, she decided it was important to pursue opportunities that would give her lived experiences in the field. “I like to know how things work—how the sausage gets made,” she says. “It helps me see the bigger picture in the end, which helps shape my experience.”

Exploring Law in the Real World

Bernstein first found an administrative job working in a corporate law firm. Although she didn’t personally connect with the practice of corporate law, she enjoyed talking with attorneys, reading depositions, and interacting with the California Courts. She then landed an opportunity to work in Israel for a year. Supported by a fellowship, she lived in Jerusalem working for a non-governmental organization helping recently immigrated Ethiopian Jews assimilate into Israeli society. “Israeli society can be impenetrable at times,” she says. “The education system is all public, and it’s very competitive. If you don’t pass certain tests at certain times, your opportunities are limited.” The core organization was created to even the playing field, and the program helped level set for immigrants. While in Jerusalem, Bernstein experienced a profound connection to the advocacy work. She enjoyed researching Israeli law and was even given the opportunity to go to the West Bank to meet with the military lawyer and speak to attorneys who had practiced in the states before moving to Israel.

When she returned from Jerusalem, Bernstein resolved to study for the LSAT and start applying to schools while continuing to explore work options. She landed a job as an assistant in the Salt Lake City Prosecutor’s Office, under the DA. The office handled infractions up to Class B misdemeanors, and the prosecutors invited her to court, let her read motions, and assist with trial preparation. She was able to attend virtual hearings, observe defense lawyers in action, and witness the inner workings of court first-hand.

When it came time to apply to schools, Bernstein had a clear vision of exactly what she wanted to do. “I was so connected to the human rights advocacy and policy I did in Israel, working and learning about international and foreign law, that I felt much more passionate about that than any other kind of law I had the opportunity to work with.” With her interests crystalized by her experiences, she began to research her options.

“I was so connected to the human rights advocacy and policy that I did in Israel, working and learning about international and foreign law.”

Finding Her Passion and Community

Loyola Law School quickly stood out from the pack with its access to extraordinary opportunities through the Loyola Social Justice Clinic. “When I was asking questions, I never felt like I was just a statistic or a number to them,” she says. “They were really interested in me and what I wanted.” When Bernstein inquired about the program and shared her interests, she was promptly connected to current students and practitioners in international law who shared their experiences and insights. She immediately felt empowered and treated like an equal. With the largest alumni network in Southern California, it was clear that the LLS community went way beyond the classroom. “I have never once thought that Loyola was the wrong choice,” she says. “I’ve never attended a school, including college, and especially high school, where I want to be involved when I graduate. However, I feel the complete opposite about Loyola. That sense of community doesn’t go away. Most students here feel the same drive and passion for the law as I do, and that’s what bolsters the community. It’s so helpful in a school environment to be around similar people that are also driven.”

From the very beginning, Bernstein recognized Loyola’s commitment to training lawyers who not only excel in their philosophical and analytical capacities but also demonstrate proficiency in practical and professional skills. “Our classes are taught from a practical perspective, not a theoretical perspective,” she says. “I think this is a shift that a lot of schools are making, but Loyola’s been doing it for a very long time. There’s so much focus on experiential learning. On the first day of class, one of my professors said, ‘I’m going to talk to you like lawyers, not students,’ and that was so empowering. Everyone here understands, the administration understands that the students have this strong desire to hit the ground running and we will learn as we go under supervision for sure.”

“On the first day of class, one of my professors said, ‘I’m going to talk to you like lawyers, not students,’ and that was so empowering.”

Currently in her second year of the J.D. program, Bernstein has already worked with Loyola’s Genocide Justice Clinic to assist survivors of the Nazi Holocaust seeking reparations, developed a brief and authored a memo articulating a substantive law to an international tribunal for a Ukrainian case in the European Court of Human Rights, and is now working in an internship at the Department of Justice. “I am not only getting client-facing real-life experience, but I am also learning by doing. Other law schools have clinics, yes, but there’s not as much of a focus on them. The professors and attorneys that run our clinics trust our students, and the attorneys supervising us trust us to do a lot of the work on our own and only redirect us when we get off track. My father used to say, ‘… in law school, you learn how to write about the law, you don’t learn how to practice the law…,’ but I don’t feel that way at all. I can write about the law, sure, but I know how to practice the law because my professors have taught me, and that’s a huge difference.”

To practice law is to build from best intentions; to interpret, translate, and improve upon structures and rules to make them work for everyone. For Emily Bernstein, practicing law is what makes sense of the chaos and ensures a better, more just, and equitable future for all.

 

On one hand, George C. Fatheree III ’07, is an expert in complex real estate transactions at Sidley Austin LLP. On the other, he’s a fierce champion of social justice, racial equity and the arts. Put the two together, and you get a uniquely dynamic changemaker. One who can leverage the power of law to make a real impact on the social issues he cares deeply about. When he was called to rescue the priceless archives of Ebony and Jet magazines, Fatheree brought both his passion for cultural history and his sharp, practical legal expertise.

A Black cultural treasure, in jeopardy

It’s hard to overstate the importance of Ebony and Jet magazines in Black America. At its peak, Ebony alone reached over 40% of African-American adults.

The archives of Ebony and Jet are a cultural treasure trove, home to four million photos, as well as 100,000 film and audio recordings. According to the New York Times, it is “the most significant collection of photographs depicting African American life in the 20th century.” 

In 2019, the parent company of the iconic magazines, Johnson Publishing, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The archives were put up for sale, and at risk of being damaged, destroyed, or, if sold to the wrong private owner, vanishing forever.

For Fatheree, those outcomes were unacceptable. “Nothing else like these archives exists,” he says. “It’s a visual documentation of eight decades of African American history — which is to say American history.”

Fatheree got to work. He and several of his partners at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP toiled around the clock for five days straight, dealing with bankruptcy, corporate, tax, intellectual property and litigation issues, hoping to guide the archives into responsible hands. “The scope of the project was immense,” he says. 

Fatheree helped strike a deal, forever preserving the archives with the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and other public institutions. Most importantly, there are plans to create an exhibition of the work for everyone to see.

 

“Loyola’s JD was the strongest game in town.”

Just a few years earlier, George Fatheree wasn’t in law at all — he was running an education nonprofit. “I loved what I was doing, but I knew I wanted to go back and get my degree,” he says. “I wasn’t going to leave Los Angeles and I didn’t want to quit my job. I needed a program that would provide the flexibility that my family and I needed.” 

As he began to research law programs, Fatheree didn’t want any JD — he wanted the best. “I wasn’t going to compromise quality,” he says. “It needed to be a program with a school that had a top reputation, with reputable faculty, with peers who I thought I could learn from. And really Loyola was the strongest game in town.”

Looking back, he has no doubt that LLS was the right choice.

“This is what I’ve been called to do. To make a real impact on issues I’m passionate about. And Loyola made it possible.”

Practical legal skills in action 

When the Johnson archive went up for sale at bankruptcy auction, Fatheree had five days to pull together a team and solve a host of bankruptcy, corporate, tax, intellectual property and litigation issues. “The scope of the project was immense,” he says. “I’d never done this exact thing before, but I was pretty sure no one had.”

Fatheree wasn’t a bankruptcy attorney, but he did know how to lead a diverse team. Diverse classmates — hailing from disparate industries and walks of life — are everywhere at the law school. “We had a woman who was a professional ballerina,” he says. “We had a gentleman who had just retired from the military, we had engineers and entrepreneurs. I was always leading and contributing to diverse teams.” 

He also knew how to ask the right questions. He learned that from his professors, who were deeply immersed in their profession. “I remember driving into my office,” he says, “listening to the radio and hearing my professors talk about the most important cases in the news, and then, a few hours later, I’d be in their class raising my hand, asking questions.” Loyola Law is proudly located in downtown L.A. — the epicenter of law in Southern California. This proximity enables professors to work at the height of their craft during the day, and share those experiences with their students in the evening. 

When taking on a challenge of this magnitude, the right education makes the difference. “A J.D. from Loyola is not all about deep, philosophical legal questions that can never be answered, Fatheree says. “It’s about how to be a lawyer in the real world.” 

Welcome to a family of difference makers

Fatheree stays active with Loyola Law as co-chair of the Black Alumni Committee. He also teaches a class called Real Estate Transactions Practicum that uses as its textbook actual, redacted contracts from real estate deals on which he has worked. 

He’s proud to be a part of the LLS legacy — a 100-year-old history of producing multidimensional lawyers who make a tangible difference in the world. It’s a legacy George Fatheree takes pride in building every day in his work and in the classroom. 

Loyola gave him the tools to be an elite hybrid, one who closes billion dollar financing transactions one day, and the next, represents Holocaust survivors and secures reparations from the German government. “It’s really transformative how Loyola Law School is thinking about the hybrid JD program,” Fatheree says. “I got real life skills and experience to pursue and impact things that I’m passionate about, and that are important to my family.” 

Ready to turn your passion into practice? Loyola’s hybrid JD program provides non-traditional students with unparalleled access to professors like George Fatheree, who practice law by day and teach at night. It’s hard to overstate the importance of Ebony and Jet magazines in Black America. At its peak, Ebony alone reached over 40% of African-American adults.

The archives of Ebony and Jet are a cultural treasure trove, home to four million photos, as well as 100,000 film and audio recordings. According to the New York Times, it is “the most significant collection of photographs depicting African American life in the 20th century.” 

In 2019, the parent company of the iconic magazines, Johnson Publishing, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The archives were put up for sale, and at risk of being damaged, destroyed, or, if sold to the wrong private owner, vanishing forever.

For Fatheree, those outcomes were unacceptable. “Nothing else like these archives exists,” he says. “It’s a visual documentation of eight decades of African American history — which is to say American history.”

Fatheree got to work. He and several of his partners at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP toiled around the clock for five days straight, dealing with bankruptcy, corporate, tax, intellectual property and litigation issues, hoping to guide the archives into responsible hands. “The scope of the project was immense,” he says. 

Fatheree helped strike a deal, forever preserving the archives with the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and other public institutions. Most importantly, there are plans to create an exhibition of the work for everyone to see.

 

 

A fitting conclusion

It’s hard to overstate the importance of Ebony and Jet magazines in Black America. At its peak, Ebony alone reached over 40% of African-American adults.

The archives of Ebony and Jet are a cultural treasure trove, home to four million photos, as well as 100,000 film and audio recordings. According to the New York Times, it is “the most significant collection of photographs depicting African American life in the 20th century.” 

In 2019, the parent company of the iconic magazines, Johnson Publishing, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The archives were put up for sale, and at risk of being damaged, destroyed, or, if sold to the wrong private owner, vanishing forever.

For Fatheree, those outcomes were unacceptable. “Nothing else like these archives exists,” he says. “It’s a visual documentation of eight decades of African American history — which is to say American history.”

Fatheree got to work. He and several of his partners at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP toiled around the clock for five days straight, dealing with bankruptcy, corporate, tax, intellectual property and litigation issues, hoping to guide the archives into responsible hands. “The scope of the project was immense,” he says. 

Fatheree helped strike a deal, forever preserving the archives with the J. Paul Getty Trust, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and other public institutions. Most importantly, there are plans to create an exhibition of the work for everyone to see.