Jackson Free Press

Growing up, Whitney Barkley never dreamed she would be a lawyer.

I was going to be an actress and be incredibly famous, and win an Oscar," she says with a laugh.

During her first two years at the College of Charleston in South Carolina, Barkley made up her mind that she would become an actress, majoring in theater and voice. Her life changed direction, however, after she started protesting the war in Iraq.

"That was kind of the beginning of my political awakening," Barkley says.

She switched her major to political science and communication, and started working on local political campaigns in South Carolina. After both candidates won, Barkley felt a huge sense of accomplishment. She got the same high working in politics as she did when she was on stage.

"Politics is theater, you know," she says.

Barkley, 25, decided to go on to law school at the University of Michigan. She wanted to learn more about the legal system, and she saw a law degree as way of making change. After graduating from law school in 2009, Barkley soon moved to Jackson to work for the Mississippi Center for Justice. At the MCJ, Barkley works on foreclosure-prevention efforts throughout the state, funded by Equal Justice Works and AmeriCorps grants. She says that common stereotypes about those who end up in foreclosure do not hold true in our state: "I think people get this idea, when they talk about foreclosure, of people who irresponsibly have taken out way too much money, ... and that's really not what you see in Mississippi. ... These people have gotten battered by life's circumstances and can no longer afford to make the payments on their house."

While Barkley is dedicated to her work, she never left theater behind. Since moving to Jackson, Barkley has performed in the "Monster Monologues" with the Fondren Theatre Workshop and "Steel Magnolias" with Black Rose Theatre. She plans on auditioning with New Stage Theatre in August.

While she's not at the Center for Justice or acting, Barkley works with the Center for Violence Prevention where she is a facilitator in batterer's intervention classes for abusers.

"People always ask what I mean when I say I love the guys (that attend the classes), but I do, because we're all flawed human beings. ... But most of them are actively trying to work toward being better people, and I have to respect that," Barkley explains.

Though funding for Barkley's position at the MCJ ends next year, she is considering making Mississippi her home.

"Mississippi has such a sense of place," she says.

She is fascinated by Jackson's transformation into a bustling, vibrant community.

"That's part of what tempts me to stay here," Barkley says. "To see that through till the end, to see Jackson be the city that it once was."