Vanita Gupta

Occupation: Lawyer
Reebok HR Award: 2004
Birthplace: Media, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Vanita Gupta, a young attorney who worked for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), led a successful battle to address racial injustice by fighting for the release of 35 falsely convicted residents of Tulia, Texas.

In July 1999, on a single night, 46 people in Tulia (including 40 African Americans, three Mexican Americans, and three Caucasians closely linked with the African American community) were arrested on drug charges based only on the testimony of one undercover narcotics agent, Thomas Coleman. Coleman, who had a history of racial prejudice, could offer no records of an 18-month surveillance. And even though no drugs, money, or guns were found during the arrests, prosecutors charged the defendants with drug possession and sale, public defenders advised them to plead guilty, jurors voted to convict them, and a judge sentenced them.

Vanita was living and working in New York City investigating racism in the war on drugs when she became aware of the Tulia case. What she learned outraged her, and she responded by recruiting and coordinating a team of attorneys from 10 Washington, DC, and New York law firms, who all agreed to work on the case pro-bono (for free). Vanita made multiple week-long trips to Tulia not only to prepare the legal case, but also to build relationships with the affected community members and the other attorneys involved in the case. Vanita ended up orchestrating a complex campaign to free the dozen still jailed defendants and to seek a reversal on the convictions. She became instrumental in developing the legal strategy and securing testimony from key witnesses. She recruited, coordinated, and inspired the team to take action on multiple levels-from filing motions, to gathering documentation and testimony, and eventually to securing a special hearing before a judge.

The judge concluded that keeping these people in jail would be 'a travesty of justice,' and a complicated process began to free the victims and overturn their convictions. The governor of Texas stepped in to sign special legislation permitting the release of 12 still-jailed defendants. And the governor and the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole then agreed to grant pardons to 35 of those who had been convicted-not only those who had insisted upon their innocence at trial, but also those who had pled guilty out of fear and intimidation.

For her hard work on their behalf, Tulia residents and local activists who had been directly affected by the sting celebrated Vanita with a plaque inscribed, 'Presented to Vanita Gupta, for doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly in Tulia, Texas.'

Vanita grew up in the United States, England, and France. She has lived in Media, Pennsylvania (just outside of Philadelphia); Weybridge and Walton-on-Thames, England; Paris, France; New Haven, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; and New York, New York. She has one older sister. 

It was in London in the 1980s that she learned the sting of injustice firsthand, as she and her family were sometimes the victims of racial slurs. 'Growing up in England as a South Asian person really shaped my own consciousness around race,' she says. 'I was never able to take anything for granted, and I had to be constantly aware of my own position both culturally and racially in all kinds of contexts. All of that shaped my political consciousness.'

After graduating from Yale College, Vanita worked in a series of policy and social justice positions — as a community organizer around youth violence prevention at the Harvard School of Public Health, as an intern at the New York City Commission on Human Rights, as a clinical law student at the Juvenile Rights Division of Legal Aid, as a student lawyer at the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, and at the Public Defender Service in Washington, DC. Then, following graduation from New York University Law School, she received an Open Society Institute Soros Justice Fellowship, through which she began her work for LDF.

In 2006, Vanita left the LDF and now works at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Books

1. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry -- 'It is an incredibly gripping story of four people's lives in India during the Emergency in the 1970s. The author describes what happens when a government undermines human rights.  Without hitting you on the head about it, the book instead uses rich drama among four characters who I grew to love and care about deeply.'

2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy -- 'I just couldn't put this book down.  Tolstoy transported me completely to 19th century Russia.  Good writing does that.'

3. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami -- 'This book is magical.  Murakami takes the most mundane events in his characters' lives, and creates complex stories around them, involving dreams and symbols.'    

Musicians

1. REM -- 'They produce great music and are smartly political.'

2. Mercedes Sosa -- 'Her music can make me cry, especially 'Gracias a la Vida.''

3. Nina Simone -- 'Love her voice.  Love her songs.'

Movies

1. Pan's Labyrinth -- 'An incredibly creative film about a child who copes with the political and social oppression around her by devising a fantastical world.  It is beautiful (although a couple of scenes are pretty violent).'

2. Rear Window -- 'I find most Hitchcock movies very entertaining and intelligent.  This one is particularly so.'

3. Do the Right Thing -- 'An important film about racial conflict in the multi-ethnic neighborhood of Bed-Stuy in Brooklyn, New York, on the hottest day of the year.'

4. 12 Angry Men -- 'This film is about a juror who tries to persuade the other 11 jurors to acquit a suspect on trial on the basis of reasonable doubt.  Despite facing the wrath of 11 other jurors, he retains the courage of his convictions.  Except for a few minutes, the whole film takes place in a jury room, and yet I found myself mesmerized by each of the 12 jurors and their different personalities and motivations.'

Question: If you were to create a 'toolbox' of things you need to create positive change, what would go in your toolbox?

Vanita's Answer: Pen, computer and printer, music, light, a sense of humor.

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).  Created with input from many nations, this document still presents a vision of a world in which the rights of all human beings are honored.  It has become the foundation for advocates of human rights around the world. 

The human rights work Vanita Gupta has done on DISCRIMINATION AND JUSTICE relates most to Article 7 of the UDHR:

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ARTICLE 7: All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Learn more about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Tulia, Texas

*Unless otherwise noted, all facts and figures come from the Swisher County Profile (linked from the Texas state homepage).

POPULATION:
4,714

AREA: 
900 sq. miles

POPULATION DENSITY:
9.3 people/sq. mi.

ETHNICALLY: 
36% Hispanic

RACIALLY: 
91.5% white
6.8% black

MEDIAN AND AVERAGE INCOME:
Both about $30,000

UNEMPLOYMENT: 
5% — 'Swisher County Profile'. Compiled by the County Information Project.  Last Figure from 2005, Last Accessed 6 Jun. 2006. (http://www.txcip.org/tac/census/profile.php?FIPS=48437)"