Joseph Inabanza, incoming 1L, has lived a life shaded by experiences of exclusion and isolation. He’ll also be the first to tell you he considers himself incredibly fortunate, the recipient of opportunities that forever altered the trajectory of his life.
Inabanza sees coming to Maine Law as a culmination of many of those life experiences, those that proved both challenging and rewarding.
“I was born and grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa,” Inabanza said, “which means I was there for a considerable amount of the country’s democracy. We grew up together.”
That aging process was, at times, a difficult one for Inabanza who is not ethnically South African (his mother and father are from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, respectively), and as a result often faced bullying and isolation in school. He also recounts his daily walks to school skirting potential muggings and other forms of violence.
Like many places, Inabanza said, the South African democratic project has its flaws and many of the promises made during its dawn have not been fulfilled. “I look back and have this sense I was living in an experiment. How do you go from a segregated society to a colorblind society without bloodshed and retaliation? I think they’re still figuring it out.”
While Johannesburg was always a rough city, political unrest and violence swelled in 2017 around the city and his mother’s shop was repeatedly looted. It felt like the right time to leave.
With the help of a church in the U.S., the Inabanzas immigrated to Maine later that year, early on in Inabanza’s high school career. The family bounced around in migrant shelters before securing permanent housing. During this time, Inabanza received excellent results on a placement exam, which afforded him his pick of area high schools.
He ended up at Casco Bay High School, a decision he credits with setting him on a trajectory towards law school.
Casco Bay is a small, innovative high school with an emphasis on student experience and engagement. Inabanza said the environment felt foreign from the standardized and often authoritarian approach to education in South Africa. He recalls feeling charmed if confused upon first meeting the school’s principal, Derek Pierce.
“He’s actually a big part of my story as he helped me decide to attend Casco Bay,” Inabanza added. “But I remember the first time I saw him, he came out with a big smile, wearing shorts and crocs and I had no idea what was going on.”
The high school allows students to explore their passions, directing their education by what most interests them. Inabanza quickly realized his passion lay in advocacy work, especially issues around racial equality, youth justice, and affordable housing, all topics relevant to the greater Portland community that he found also intersected with his experiences in South Africa.
“I became really exposed to the injustices taking place towards Black and Brown folks in the U.S. Pretty quickly it started to feel similar to South Africa,” Inabanza said. “I began to discover when you are not wealthy, when you have dark skin, the justice system often does not favor you.”
By the time he reached his junior year in high school, Inabanza knew he wanted to become an attorney. And beyond that, he felt called to the fields of juvenile justice and public defense, work he’d already thrown himself into through representing his peers to the school board, volunteering with the Maine Youth Court, advocating for People of Color at his school, and leading restorative justice circles. Even in his summer before law school, Inabanza is interning with the Maine Indigent Defense Center.
Inabanza felt a pull towards Maine Law early on in his studies at the University of Southern Maine (USM) where he received a full scholarship to study Criminology. He decided to apply for and was accepted to the 3+3 Program, an initiative that allows students from ten different institutions to earn their B.A. and Maine Law J.D. in six years, a timeline and progression that felt natural to Inabanza.
“I was really drawn to the clinics at Maine Law and the practical experience they offer,” he said. “Additionally, the environment felt similar to my high school where you can build strong relationships in the community as you explore your interests. That kind of education is going to allow me to be the best possible advocate for people. I can’t wait to get started.”
