This February, Fordham Law School will celebrate Black History Month through both virtual and in-person events. In recent years, we have honored the lives and work of alumni such as Reginald Brewster ’50, Eunice Carter ’32, and the Honorable Lawrence W. Pierce ’51 and celebrated the achievements made by our faculty, students, and alumni.
Black History Month this year will kick off with the first-ever Eunice Carter Lecture featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Nikole Hannah-Jones on Tuesday, Feb. 1. The month’s programming will conclude with the Black History Trailblazers event, hosted by Fordham’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) on Monday, Feb. 28.
Celebrate Black History Month and read more about the important contributions of Black faculty, students, and alumni to the legal profession and beyond.
Upcoming Events
- Mock Interviews with Schulte Roth & Zabel (All month)
Fordham Law students can sign up for mock interviews with Schulte Roth & Zabel throughout the month of February. For more information, contact Fordham BLSA at BLSA@law.fordham.edu.
- A Month of Service (All Month)
For the month of February, Fordham BLSA will be engaging in a variety of community service opportunities including a book drive, donations for Haiti, and much more. Students who would like to donate K-12 appropriate reading materials and books to children in need can find a bin located in LL-130. For those interested in donating to Haiti, please refer to the following link.
Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the New York Times’ “1619 Project” on American slavery and its consequences, Hannah-Jones will be interviewed by Janai Nelson, incoming director and counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and introduced by Professor Catherine Powell.
This program is only open to the Fordham community. It will be held in person at Costantino Room and live streamed via Zoom. Registration is required. Details have been shared with the Fordham Law community via email.
- BLSA AUC Outreach (Friday, Feb. 11)
Fordham BLSA will be traveling to Atlanta to speak with students from Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University about Fordham Law, the importance of diversity in the law, and the realities of being a Black law student.
- Virtual Maroon Table Talk (Thursday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m.)
Modeled after Jada Pinkett Smith’s “Red Table Talk,” join the Fordham BLSA Alumni Community for a series of candid conversations about the most critical and provocative topics in the Black legal community. Topics will include: elitism in the legal field and the divide amongst Black lawyers; intersectional identities and the legal experience; and generational trauma, imposter syndrome, and therapy in the Black legal community.
Click here to RSVP.
- Appellate Brief Workshop for 1Ls with Sidley Attorney (Thursday, Feb. 17, 5 p.m.)
An attorney from Sidley Austin will aid Fordham BLSA 1Ls with their legal writing on appellate briefs.
- Professional Development Week (Feb. 21-25)
For the entire week of February 21, Fordham BLSA will be offering a diversity of professional development opportunities to its members and the Fordham Law community. Such opportunities and services include professional headshots, a speaker series on professional career development, networking opportunities and professional workshops. Subscribe to the BLSA newsletter for information on how to get involved.
– Financial Literacy Workshop (Monday, Feb. 21, 6-7 p.m.)
– Dress for Success Fashion Show with Fordham Fashion Law Society (Tuesday, Feb. 22, 1-2 p.m.)
– Practicing in the African Diaspora (Tuesday, Feb. 22, 7:30-9:30 p.m.)
– Latham and Watkins Networking Event (Wednesday, Feb. 23, 6-8 p.m.)
– Clifford Chance Networking Event (Thursday, Feb. 24, 6-7 p.m.)
– Professional Headshots (Friday, Feb. 25, 1-3 p.m.)
- BLSA Black History Month Trailblazers Event (Monday, Feb. 28, 7 p.m.)
Fordham BLSA will celebrate the myriad achievements of several distinguished alumni whose stellar contributions to the legal profession have paved the way for current and future Black Fordham Law students to achieve professional excellence as attorneys.
This year’s honorees include:
- Jennifer White-Reid ’98, Senior Vice President, Domestic Violence Residential & Legal Programs at Urban Resource Center
- Tracey L. McNeil ’99, Ombudsman at U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
- Valerie White ’96, Executive Director at Local Initiatives Support Communities (LISC) NYC
- Jumaane Ford ’14, Contract Advisor at NFL Players Association
- Jeanine Botwe ’20, Associate Counsel at NBCUniversal
- Suzanne Miles-Gustave ’02, Executive Deputy Commissioner at New York State Office of Children and Family Services
- Vivian Diane Wesson ’00, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at Marsh & McClennan
- Jason B. Lynch ’10, Executive Director at Morgan Stanley
- Deneen Donnley ’92, Senior Vice President & General Counsel at Con Edison
Click here to RSVP.