Arizona Storytellers: Lawrence Robinson

By KJZZ News
Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 - 4:08pm
Updated: Tuesday, November 5, 2019 - 2:55pm

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Lawrence Robinson
Jeremiah Toller/Arizona Republic
Lawrence Robinson shares his story at the Van Buren on Oct. 11, 2017.

KJZZ partners with the Arizona Republic to bring you the Arizona Storytellers series. We record the live events and share them with you on the radio. In Phoenix, the storytellers sometimes share stories about our community or the life events that have shaped them in general. Megan Finnerty is the creator of the series. 


In 2007, Lawrence Robinson started his first day of work as a public defender in family court in New York City.

He rode the elevator to the 10th floor of the court building and quickly realized he was one of the few attorneys of color in that elevator.

When he got there, Robinson had no idea how to find his client, Juanita. But she found him.

And while Juanita's mother served pozole to her five grandchildren, and the kids studied the court pamphlets, Juanita explained to robinson why she was in court that day.

Lawrence Robinson is the director at Leadership for Educational Equity.

Arizona Storytellers Project is partnering with KJZZ for Holiday StoryFest & Authors Showcase on Dec. 1, 2018, at Glendale Civic Center. To learn more about storytellers at the event visit storyfest.kjzz.org

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