The Essex Barrister

On 18 May, we held the second Ridley lecture of the term, welcoming Alexandra Wilson, known as ‘The Essex Barrister’. Ms Wilson joined us via Teams, projected onto a big screen in the Theatre, and spoke on the subject of ‘Barriers and The Bar: race, social mobility and the law.’

Deputy Grecians were invited to attend the lecture in person in the Theatre, while pupils from other years and members of staff were given access to the lecture live on Teams.

Oluwatoga, DG monitor, interviewed our guest speaker and did a magnificent job. Here is his review of the event:

‘Yesterday evening, I got the fantastic opportunity to interview Alexandra Wilson, at one of our CH Ridley lectures. Miss Wilson is a very successful criminal barrister and author of the brilliant “In Black and White”; a book detailing not only her experiences in the legal system as a mixed-race female barrister, but also a lot of the shared obstacles of POC within professions that are predominantly occupied by white men.

Miss Wilson opened up to us and was able to inspire and motivate myself and many others who attended the talk, whilst discussing topics such as institutional racism, the legal profession and racial inequality in the UK justice system with so much honesty and wisdom. Thank you @essexbarrister for sharing with us and we’d love to hear from you again!”

Oluwatoga, DG