Championing Children’s Rights, Driving change
We’re building a legal future where children are seen, heard, and empowered through scholarship, advocacy, and collective action.
Who we are
Rights4Children is a think tank founded in 2023 by three Black women law professors—Catherine Smith, Tanya Washington, and Robin Walker Sterling. We are dedicated to justice and equality for children. Our commitment to transforming children’s rights is deeply influenced by our personal experiences, teaching, and scholarship.
In the U.S. legal system, children face distinct challenges and opportunities but do not have clear rights. Rights4Children aims to change that. With a focus on education, climate change, families and the juvenile legal system, Rights4children aims to build a future where children are seen and empowered.
Children bear the brunt of the United States’ inequalities, yet our constitutional system prioritizes the rights and interests of adults.
Creating a Movement for Justice
In Classrooms
Creating ground-breaking legal scholarship, frameworks, and coursework.
In Courts
Engaging with strategic litigation and providing expert testimony.
In Community
Connecting academics and advocates driving change.
What’s Happening Now
Real-time updates from the movement for children’s rights— case victories, legislation, headlines, and legal insights.
We are laying the foundation for a movement for children’s rights, and our transformative work is just getting started.