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 …

Environmental Law As Segregation, Nadia B. Ahmad, Melissa Bryan

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Climate Cages: Connecting Migration, The Carceral State, Extinction Rebellion, And The Coronavirus Through Cicero And 21 Savage, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Re-Reading Anita Bernstein's The Common Law Inside The Female Body From The Bottom Of The Well: Analysis Of The Central Park Five, Border Drownings, The Kavanaugh Confirmation, And The Coronavirus, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Second International Conference On Climate, Nature, And Society: Selected Conference Excerpts, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

New York Times V. Sullivan And The Rhetorics Of Race: A Look At The Briefs, Oral Arguments, And Opinions, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

Given the strife of the Civil Rights Movement that surrounded the case, this article looks back at the use of race in New York Times v. Sullivan. Specifically, the article examines how the advocates, led by Herbert Wechsler for the Times, I. H. Wachtel, William Rogers, and Samuel Pierce for the four ministers, and Roland Nachman for Sullivan, dealt with race in their rhetorics to the Court, both in their merits briefs and their oral arguments, and also how the justices used race in their opinions. Although Justice William Brennan did not explicitly focus on race in his opinion for …

Trial Jurors And Variables Influencing Why They Return The Verdicts They Do - A Guide For Practicing And Future Trial Attorneys, Mitchell J. Frank, Osvaldo F. Morera

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Respecting Language As Part Of Ethnicity: Title Vii And Language Discrimination At Work, Carlo A. Pedrioli

Carlo A. Pedrioli

This article argues that, in the absence of a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason or a business necessity, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act can protect employees from language-based discrimination in the workplace. Language is a part of one’s ethnicity, which refers to one’s culture. Ethnicity, much as race already does, should receive protection under Title VII. Plaintiffs, however, have the burden of proof in litigation, and so a plaintiff who sues under a discrimination theory should have to make his or her case to the appropriate fact-finder.

Drawing upon the insights of critical theory, particularly to explore concepts like …