Dahlia Walker-Huntington still using her voice
Noted attorney talks balance, growing up in Ja and sharing stories of immigration
Published:Friday | February 18, 2022 | 12:09 AMStephanie Lyew/Gleaner Writer
Whoever said that talking too much was a crime was obviously not a talker. Dahlia Walker-Huntington recalls often being punished in prep school for always speaking, but as she matured, she realised it was that same gift of gab that would help in the profession she decided to pursue.
Walker-Huntington’s career path has been simply stratospheric. As one of the most celebrated practitioners in the immigration, family, criminal and personal injury law, she has spent much of her career advocating for legal and fair immigration as it relates to issues of immigrants’ rights, and she is very vocal on the subject matter of race and gender equality.
“Maybe if I worked for the government, I could not be as vocal, and if I had gone to work for a firm instead of starting one of my own, I would not have the ability to manipulate my time to have given back to the community as I have. After law school, there are things I would have done differently, but you play the hand you’re dealt with, and once I graduated, I went straight into working for myself,” Walker-Huntington told Living.
Although she sometimes finds herself reflecting and thinking about what could have been done differently, she has not regretted steering into the field of law, where talking too much is a way to manifest change.
“So, here I am, a believer in you are where you are supposed to be coming from where I have, even though as human beings we do have moments when we look back on life and say we should have done it this way or that way,” she shared.
Though unusual advice, the lawyer says she encourages anyone thinking to go to law school to go if they can, “but not necessarily to practise law and be in a courtroom litigating all the time” because no matter what a person wants to do, there are benefits in having a law school education. “It’s three years of intensive study, rigour, and discipline that is good for any path you want to take,” she said.
A graduate of the Convent of Mercy Academy (Alpha) in Kingston, Jamaica, and of the Miami Dade College and Florida International University with degrees in journalism, and the University of Miami School of Law with a Juris Doctor degree, she continues to make her alma maters proud with her many achievements and unmistakable work ethic. She also holds a certificate in diversity and inclusion from Cornell University and was last year awarded the Diversity and Inclusion Award by the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), of which she is a member.
Overwhelmed by the award, she shared, “I been doing this work on diversity, equity, inclusion, racial injustice and immigrants’ rights in particular Jamaican immigrants, throughout my career individually and collectively with various groups without even knowing it had a title. Of course, I was surprised by the honour, because you know, I am conscious of where I am coming from, my heritage and my family’s heritage and history and I am mentally and spiritually connected to my ancestors, my parents who have passed away and I’m often wondering if they could have imagined that they would have someone in their family receive such a recognition from an organisation of 15,000-strong.”
“Thinking even about high school days, being at Alpha and what it was like growing up in Jamaica in the 1970s – I am who I am because of those experiences, whether biological or social, and the people who crossed my path, including Sister Mary Bernadette, my former principal, and Professor Rex Nettleford, who was a proud black Caribbean native – I am sort of a mix of everything, and all this just came swirling to that moment. It made me emotional, reflective and extremely grateful to have been awarded it,” Walker-Huntington continued.
She also credits Michael Manley’s outlook on Jamaica and teachings of what Jamaicans should be as a people as being influential in her journey.
Within her own story, Walker-Huntington has been privy to the stories of many. Each story motivates her to interact and share more of her time. She has devoted her free time to working in various communities and across the United States and also hosts a podcast titled You Only Know Half, that delves into immigrant experiences, mostly of Jamaicans, looking at their journey – where they come from on the island – and how they have contributed to the American society while at the same time keeping connected to their Jamaican roots.
A lot of the stories have humble beginnings in Jamaica. “Practising law for about 24 years, I have met a lot of immigrants, mostly Jamaicans. But when we talk about immigration, it is focused heavily on the Hispanic and Latino communities, but at the same time, I’m well aware [of] the Caribbean influence on immigration and on America. Each person’s story sticks with me, and it is part of the reason I decided to do the podcast to magnify the Jamaican experience … I wanted to showcase those stories.”
“A lot of these people use what was attained in Jamaica, whether it’s education, their upbringing and integrity from parents and grandparents and then with the opportunity in America, they make life better for themselves. The underlying theme, however, is how people reach back to Jamaica and try to help; from maybe schools, communities and they care, continuously figuring out how they can help in Jamaica and the community here to help organise to be stronger as a voice,” she continued.
She immerses herself into her work and, as a political junkie, often gets engrossed in policies and ideologies. There is no typical workweek, the lawyer said in her interview, yet it is one of the things she likes about her career. She explained that some cases might take many years and require her to travel to a different state to appear with a client before the courts or homeland security. Still, Walker-Huntington is able to structure her time and have a little fun in-between flying to other countries or back home.
“My husband has been in the hospitality industry for 40 years, so when it comes to travel, meeting new people and entertainment, we complement each other. Usually, we enjoy going to a hotel on the north coast either two or so times a year to soak up the rays on the beautiful white sand beaches and in getting to and from, driving the old route through the Bog Walk Gorge. I, being a Kingstonian, I’m also very comfortable when I come to Kingston finding new places to eat food or hang out,” she said.
“July marks 20 years of marriage. I’m not sure how we will celebrate our big milestone. I’ll say let’s do a party, and he is ready and on board, and maybe we have to consider one of those online parties, but as long as we live to see the day and we are together, we will be happy,” Walker-Huntington concluded.