Law Commons^™

What, To The Marginalized Person, Is The American Dream, Deidre Keller

Journal Publications

I will organize this Note around three themes Douglass articulated in his speech. These themes, which remain timely and relevant over 170 years later, are (1) the importance of attending to those most impacted by injustices; (2) the responsibility of each of us to address the injustices we see in the world around us; and (3) the practice of remaining hopeful in the face of what, at times, may feel like daunting circumstances. I will structure this Note around these three themes as I consider what the American Dream means for marginalized persons. Throughout, I will weave in examples of …

Bridge Or Barrier: The Intersection Of Wealth, Housing, And The Disparate Impact Standard

Florida A & M University Law Review

This note asserts that exclusionary zoning and housing based on income or economic standing can have a disparate impact on race. The disparate impact standard of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, 42, U.S.C.S § 3601 et seq., used in the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities, does not do enough to aid plaintiffs in bringing claims where there is a racial disparity in housing. Part One of this paper will discuss the Federal policies that historically contributed to the wealth gap that exists on the basis of race, the legacy of these policies, and how …

The Roots Of The Problem: How The Crown Act Could Remedy The Inadequacies Of Title Vii Hair Discrimination Protections In The Entertainment Industry

Florida A & M University Law Review

This article will examine the inadequacies of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) as it relates to hair discrimination in the entertainment industry and how the “Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair” (“CROWN”) Act could help to alleviate those inadequacies. Title VII fails to acknowledge the connection between hair texture/ protective styles and race. The entertainment industry exploits the failures of Title VII when casting African American women for television and film roles. Industry executives have been known to ask actresses to mute or exaggerate their blackness through different requests for their …

School Curriculum: The Sigmatic Harm To Students And The Responsibility Of Congress To Act Again

Florida A & M University Law Review

When Brown was decided, the Supreme Court felt that it could not trust the States to encourage and facilitate equality on its own, which was proven true in the subsequent, decades-long resistance against integration following the Brown II mandate. Once again, the States cannot be trusted to move towards equality and away from backward community norms and bias without federal intervention. This is currently being exemplified by states like Florida—explicitly banning public schools from teaching Critical Race Theory. The Supreme Court does not seem willing to extend Brown any further, but the federal government may encourage and facilitate curriculum equality …

The American Dream Belongs To All Of Us: Latinos And Jamaican Americans Experience Cultural Genocide By American Assimilation

Florida A & M University Law Review

Racism in the United States has had a detrimental effect on the Latino and Jamaican experience in this country; affirmative action can be used to promote acculturation rather than assimilation. Part I of this article will explore the origins of the American Experiment as the creation of a country with freedom and democracy and how the benefit of those rights has never been given to racialized minorities without a struggle and fight. Part II explores Supreme Court cases that deal with discrimination issues in America and highlights how the solution to the forced assimilation of diverse cultures cannot be found …

What To The Marginalized Person Is The American Dream

Florida A & M University Law Review

I will organize this Note around three themes Douglass articulated in his speech. These themes, which remain timely and relevant over 170 years later, are (1) the importance of attending to those most impacted by injustices; (2) the responsibility of each of us to address the injustices we see in the world around us; and (3) the practice of remaining hopeful in the face of what, at times, may feel like daunting circumstances. I will structure this Note around these three themes as I consider what the American Dream means for marginalized persons. Throughout, I will weave in examples of …

The Anti-Woke And The Black American (Waking) Dream

Florida A & M University Law Review

This essay, though not a direct transcript, is based largely upon the keynote address given by the author on February 24, 2023, at the “The American Dream Belongs to All of Us” Symposium sponsored by the Florida A&M University (FAMU) Law Review and the FAMU Hispanic American Law Student Association (HALSA) at FAMU College of Law. The author joyfully acknowledges that her remarks are likely impermissible under the so-called Stop-W.O.K.E. Act that is currently being challenged in court by members of the FAMU College of Law community.

Critical Race Theory And Florida Schools: An Attempt To Suppress Racism Embedded Within American History

Florida A & M University Law Review

“Our Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among its citizens.” Imagine that a public school student learns that the curriculum taught at their school about their culture and its history has just been banned. Further, they discover that the reasoning for the removal is the belief that the curriculum promotes reverse racism. Imagine this happening only to classes related to their culture and background, but similar courses teaching the history and experiences of other cultures remain untouched, unbanned, and unaddressed. History is the story of the past and tells us where we are, where we come from, …

Silencio: The Hispanic/Latino Reticent Approach To Racism

Florida A & M University Law Review

Many Latinos dream of coming to America in search for a better way of life but instead are faced with discrimination based on where they come from, the language they speak, and the pigmentation of their skin. Racial discrimination is one of the most ever-present issues in the United States of America today. Some look at discrimination and believe that it has been “fixed” through our political and judicial processes. However, others know that discrimination is still alive and prominent today. Today, discrimination has manifested itself differently –it is discreet and indirect but still prominent in the daily lives of …

The Battle Of Brandy Creek: How One Black Community Fought Annexation, Tax Revaluation, And Displacement, Mark Dorosin

Journal Publications

The Brandy Creek community is a working class, Black neighborhood located just east of I-95, south of Weldon, North Carolina.' In 2005, this rural neighborhood and its surrounding land were legislatively annexed into the city of Roanoke Rapids as part of a planned economic development project. The decision to pursue legislative annexation allowed city officials to bypass the statutory notice and municipal service requirements of a city-initiated, involuntary annexation. Residents were never informed of Roanoke Rapids' intent to annex the community and had no opportunity to voice their opinions on the issue to town officials. In fact, the community first …

Am I Angry? You Bet I Am! Watching The George Floyd Murder Trial, Cheryl Page

Journal Publications

We have come a mighty long way in our criminal justice system. We have gone from a period of time when people of African descent were not considered humans and were deliberately excluded from serving on jury panels to seeing Black judges, defense attorneys and prosecuting attorneys taking part in selecting more diverse juries. Progress has been made, but how far have we really journeyed, and are the vestiges of racial animus and discrimination from the Jim Crow era truly eradicated? One need not look further than the current criminal trial we are witnessing of former Minneapolis police officer Derek …

Damn It! A Conversation On Being Black, Female, And Marginalized During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Is The World Listening? A Conversation Between Black Female Law Professors, Patricia A. Broussard

Journal Publications

We are African American women with a combined forty-four years in academia. We are professors of law and have seen firsthand how COVID-19 has ravaged African Americans across this country. As we conversed with one another in the Spring of 2020 about what we were witnessing, we began to look through the spectrum of the law and discrimination, and how this novel Coronavirus is laying bare the inequities and inequalities that have been evident for hundreds of years in the Black community. We felt compelled to put pen to paper and document our conversations in an attempt to give a …

Bridging Race + Ip: The Challenges And Potential Of Utilizing Transdisciplinary Methods To Undo The Unbearable Whiteness Of Intellectual Property, Deidre Keller

Faculty Books and Book Contributions

This chapter is part of Approaches and Methodologies in Intellectual Property Research edited by Irene Calboli and Maria Lilla.

Bibliography Of Journal And Law Review Articles Discussing Virgil Hawkins And His Legal And Social Impact, Paul J. Mclaughlin

Documents

No abstract provided.

Grant Of Clemency To Cyntoia Brown Highlights Deep Rooted Social Issues, Cheryl Page

Journal Publications

Society and our criminal justice system place a value on victims and defendants. We manifest this valuation in how we mete out punishment, how we choose who will be stopped, frisked, searched, arrested, charged, given probation, have charges dismissed and even expunged. We show the worth we place in people by the fact that 95% of elected prosecutors are white males and they have control and say over a jail and prison population that is increasingly People of Color.

Unbowed, Unbroken, And Unsung: The Unrecognized Contributions Of African American Women In Social Movement, Politics, And The Maintenance Of Democracy, Patricia A. Broussard

Journal Publications

Black women have made huge contributions to American society in movements, politics, and maintenance of the democracy. Black women have been relegated to footnotes, turned in memes, and largely ignored in politics and other areas of power. Notwithstanding the disrespect, disregard, and failures of the larger society to acknowledge that black own have made significant contributions, not only in the in entertainment industry, but in numerous other ways that have shaped out cultural and political landscape, black women's contributions to the larger society have been huge and impactful; yet there are so many blank spaces where their stories should reside. …

Racial Justice And Federal Habeas Corpus As Postconviction Relief From State Convictions, Leroy Pernell

Journal Publications

It is the purpose of this Article not to simply document the influence of race on our criminal system and its role in the current racial crisis of overrepresentation of minorities in our prisons, but rather to focus on the future and importance of a key tool in the struggle for racial equity – federal habeas corpus as a postconviction remedy. By looking first at the racial context of several “landmark” criminal justice reform decisions, this Article considers how race serves as the root of the procedural due process reform that began in earnest during the Warren Court. This Article …

Virgil Hawkins: Educator & Civil Rights Activist, Hardaway Law Firm, Virgil Hawkins Historical Society, Virgil Hawkins Bar Association Of Polk County, Black Filmmakers Of Central Florida, Kathleen High School Video And Tv Production Team, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Mu Zeta Lambda Chapter

Oral Histories, Presentations, and Videos

Virgil Darnell Hawkins was an African-American trailblazer. Through and by way of his unrelenting effort to become a Florida lawyer, the Jim Crow laws, that once kept Florida's African Americans from attending the white public universities and colleges, were eventually abolished. This paved the way for the end of discrimination in Florida's schools of higher learning and opened the way for African Americans to attend state universities and colleges.

This program and presentation honor Mr. Virgil Darnell Hawkins.

Rationed Justice, Jennifer M. Smith

Journal Publications

In the United States, "equal justice under law" is at the very forefront of our American justice system. "Equal justice" is meant to guarantee equal access to the justice system. "Equal access to the judicial process is the sin qua non of a just society." Many Americans, however, do not have any access to the justice system, never mind that of equal access. "Equal justice" has not reached the nation's indigent, or even many of our moderate-income citizens.

Use Of Economic-Based Affirmative Action In College Admissions, Torrino Travell Travis

Florida A & M University Law Review

Preferential treatment based on race is currently on life support and will soon die as a part of the college admissions process. However, banning racial preference in college admissions does not mean the end of minorities receiving preferential treatment in college admissions. Recently, federal courts have begun to hold that colleges may give preferential treatment and use various criteria in compiling its student body; however, these criteria must be race neutral. Part I of this note discusses Grutter v. Bollinger. Part II argues that admissions committees will still be able to give deserving minorities special consideration under a race neutral …

Slavery Then And Now: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade And Modern Day Human Trafficking: What Can We Learn From Our Past?, Stevie J. Swanson

Florida A & M University Law Review

Many have said that history repeats itself. Unfortunately, this is painfully true in the realm of modern day human trafficking. Human trafficking is a thirty-two billion-dollar-a-year industry, and at present, it is estimated that there are approximately twenty-seven million people enslaved worldwide. President Obama has stated that human trafficking is modern day slavery. Both sex trafficking and labor trafficking are forms of modern day slavery that are present throughout America and the world. In America, sex trafficking appears online, and at pseudo-massage parlors, truckstops, residential brothels, strip-clubs, hotels and motels, and on city streets. Labor trafficking in America includes domestic …

Wrongful Confictions And Due Process Violations, Cheryl Page

Journal Publications

This analytical essay looks at the myriad of ways innocent people are wrongfully convicted and how the criminal justice system fails to truly reach a fair and equitable result. The article looks at how at the initial stages of a criminal proceeding, a defendant can be prejudiced to the point of sufficient harm to his chances at being given a fair and impartial judicial proceeding. This article examines how fatal mistakes can be made and reveals that there can be flaws in the science of DNA testing, including fraud, criminologist bias, improper laboratory procedures, and human error. This article seeks …

Professional Women Silenced By Men-Made Norms, Maritza I. Reyes

Journal Publications

The call of this symposium was for articles regarding women's rights and the movement toward equality. We are still wrestling with what equality should mean. In this Article, when I refer to equality I envision it as both a strategy and as the end goal. Equality as a strategy means assessing the inherent inequalities of particular situations and using the means necessary to remedy the inequalities and achieve equality as the end goal. The end goal is for women (with all our complexities and intersectionalities) to achieve the same rights and results as men (with all their complexities and intersectionalities) …

"Fuck Your Breath": Black Men And Youth, State Violence, And Human Rights In The 21st Century, Jeremy I. Levitt

Journal Publications

This polemical essay was written at the behest of Black men and youth, and it is dedicated to African American women who relentlessly fight to safeguard the rights and well-being of Black men, even when in the process their maltreatment and welfare are grossly overlooked and forgotten. Bree Newsome's courageous and necessary removal of the confederate flag in the South Carolina State House is a prime example of such fearless activism. Joanne Deborah Chesimard aka Assata Shakur's-a former leader of the revolutionary organization known as the Black Liberation Armyascendency to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list is another tragically intoxicating …

Tales Of Color And Colonialism: Racial Realism And Settler Colonial Theory, Natsu Taylor Saito

Florida A & M University Law Review

More than a half-century after the civil rights era, people of color in the United States remain disproportionately impoverished and incarcerated, excluded and vulnerable. Legal remedies rooted in the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection remain elusive. This article argues that the "racial realism" advocated by the late Professor Derrick Bell compels us to look critically at the purposes served by racial hierarchy. By stepping outside the master narrative's depiction of the United States as a "nation of immigrants" with opportunity for all, we can recognize it as a settler state, much like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It could not …

Reflections On Presumed Incompetent: The Intersections Of Race And Class For Women In Academia Symposium - The Plenary Panel, Maritza I. Reyes

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Opening Borders: African Americans And Latinos Through The Lens Of Immigration, Maritza I. Reyes

Journal Publications

African-American and Latino voter turnout during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections hit record numbers. Polls show that the immigration debate influenced Latino voter turnout and preference. Presidential candidate Barack Obama's voiced support of comprehensive immigration reform strengthened his lead among Latino voters in 2008 and, once in office, his executive policy of granting temporary protection to DREAMers solidified his lead among Latino voters in 2012. Both elections showed the power that minority groups can exert when they vote in support of the candidate. If the demographic changes continue as currently estimated, African Americans and Latinos will contribute in large …

On V. Stiviano, Donald Sterling's Companion: Exploring Whiteness As Property, Imani Jackson

Florida A & M University Law Review

Much maligned billionaire and former Clippers owner Donald Sterling ignited national race relations discourse after his companion, V. Stiviano, was connected to the leak of a conversation in which Sterling made anti-black comments. This author posits that Sterling's command that his companion Stiviano disassociate with people of color, particularly black people, is covertly and overtly racist. Covert racism is implicit in the nature of their conversation.

This paper will focus on Stiviano's identity and the violence white men inflicted upon her because of her race and the circumstances surrounding her relationship with Sterling. This author contends that Stiviano attempted to …

A Latina Law Professor's Personal Perspective After The Zimmerman Trial Verdict, Maritza I. Reyes

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Black Women's Post-Slavery Silence Syndrome: A Twenty-First Century Remnant Of Slavery, Jim Crow, And Systemic Racism--Who Will Tell Her Stories?, Patricia A. Broussard

Journal Publications

One hot summer's day in the late 1950s, a young mother put her three young children down for a nap. She also bathed and prepared four of her sister's children for naptime. This young woman had volunteered to care for her nephew and nieces while their mother, her younger sister, was in the hospital delivering her fifth child. A short while after putting all of the children in their beds, the children's father, her brother-in-law, knocked on the door. The young woman assumed that he had come over to see his children and to bring them news of their mother …