“If one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the lawyers, the judges, or the protected members of the middle class. One goes to the unprotected—those, precisely, who need the law’s protection most!—and listens to their testimony.”
- James Baldwin
In 2011, while a student at University of Virginia School of Law, Johnathan had a personal experience of racial profiling from the university’s police department which resulted in FBI involvement, a coerced recantion and ultimately the sharing of the full story five years later, which made national news.
Since his time at UVA Law, Johnathan practiced law at a Philadelphia law firm, where he advised and represented a wide range of private companies and institutions of higher education. After that, he joined the Office of the General Counsel at Harvard University. Perkins currently serves as Director, Race and Equity at UCLA.
Johnathan and his sister April co-host the Black& podcast. In his spare time, Johnathan enjoys discovering foods from different cultures, new music, politics podcasts, and spending quality time with his dogs, Gracie and Frankie.