Black History Month kicks off at Fordham Law School today with the Second Annual Eunice Carter Lecture featuring Professor Dorothy Roberts of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Carey Law. The month’s programming will conclude with a trial reenactment of Meredith v. Fair and panel discussion, hosted by Fordham’s Black Law Students Association on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Celebrate Black History Month with us and read more about the important contributions of Black faculty, students, and alumni to the legal profession and beyond.
- Second Annual Eunice Carter Lecture, “Policing Black Families and Black Bodies: A Conversation with Dorothy Roberts” (Wednesday, Feb. 1, 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.)
In discussing her new book, Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—And How Abolition Can Build A Safer World, Professor Dorothy Roberts will relate her work on family policing to police surveillance, carceral logics, and abortion bans. Professor Roberts will be interviewed by Professor Melissa Murray, and introduced by Professor Catherine Powell. There will be a student mixer with Professors Murray and Roberts at 4 p.m. in Room 7-119, organized by Black Law Students Association.
- The Northeast Black Law Students Association 55th Regional Convention (Wednesday-Sunday, Feb. 8-12)
The Northeast Black Law Students Association (NEBLSA) is looking forward to celebrating Black joy, Black excellence, and Black History Month together at its 55th Regional Convention, held this year at the Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City. There will be powerful panel discussions, workshops, networking opportunities, moot and mock court competitions, community service initiatives, mixers, awards gala, and so much more. Fordham Law’s Black Law Students Association members will be attending the convention.
- Kasowitz Benson and Torres Networking and Wellness Event (Thursday, Feb. 23, 5:30 p.m.)
Studies show flowers and social connections can have a positive effect on wellness. Network with attorneys and law students, enjoy refreshments, and create terrariums while supporting Black-owned businesses. Event hosted by Kasowitz Benson Torres (1633 Broadway, 20th Floor) in collaboration with Brooklyn Law School’s and Fordham Law’s Black Law Student Associations.
- Why Black History Matters: Critical Race Theory and the Importance of Black Studies (Thursday, Feb. 23, 6:00 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
Every year for Black History Month, the Department of African and African American Studies at Fordham University invites a guest speaker to address the Fordham community. This year’s keynote speaker is Khiara M. Bridges, Ph.D., J.D., who will discuss critical race theory and the important place of Black studies in the present and future. Bridges is a law professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law, where she specializes in race and gender in the law. She is an American civil rights advocate and a leading scholar of critical race theory. Her book Critical Race Theory: A Primer (Concepts and Insights) explores the origin, development, and debates surrounding critical race theory. BLSA is sponsoring the event with the Office of the Chief Diversity Officer.
- Meredith Trial Reenactment & Panel – A Story About the Judiciary’s Unsung Heroes: James Meredith and Constance Baker Motley and their Battle against Ole Miss (Tuesday, Feb. 28, 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.)
In 1961, James Meredith applied for admission to the University of Mississippi. Despite his high qualifications, he was rejected. Meredith was Black, and the University had never admitted a black student. Represented by Constance Baker Motley and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Meredith sued in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, alleging that the University denied him admission because of his race.
The litigation was difficult and hard-fought. Although seven years had passed since the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, many in the South continued to resist the notion that segregation in public education was unconstitutional. Meredith would later describe the case as “the last battle of the Civil War.”
Fordham Law will honor the contributions of Constance Baker Motley and James Meredith by telling the story of their battle with Ole Miss and its impact on the Civil Rights Movement via a trial reenactment of the Meredith v. Fair case. Moderated by Judge Denny Chin ’78, Fordham Law’s Lawrence W. Pierce ’51 Distinguished Jurist in Residence, and his wife Kathy Hirata Chin, partner at Crowell & Moring, the reenactment will feature Dean Matthew Diller as well as Fordham Law faculty, students, and alumni. Following the reenactment, there will be a panel discussion with Professors Aysha Ames and Thomas Lee, moderated by Professor Bennett Capers.