Law and Race Commons^™

Our Silence Will Not Protect Us . . . And Neither Will J. Edgar Hoover: Reclaiming Critical Race Theory Under The New Mccarthyism, Christina Hsu Accomando, Kristin J. Anderson

Humboldt Journal of Social Relations

The right-wing attack against critical race theory is the latest manufactured panic designed to whip up supporters of a party beholden to Donald Trump. Since late 2020, hundreds of measures have been introduced across the U.S. to ban antiracism education, critical race theory, the 1619 Project, and any understanding of racism as systemic and embedded in U.S. history and law. While an understandable reaction of educators is to declare that they are not teaching critical race theory, our position is to reclaim critical race theory for the powerful lens it offers in understanding the history of the U.S., the protracted …

America To Me – A Public Nuisance Reparations Framework Through The Lens Of The Tulsa Massacre, 55 Uic L. Rev. 681 (2022), Kerri Gefeke

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Tale Of Two Cities: Interpreting Racial Disparity In Enforcement Of Stay-At-Home Orders & Social Distancing Rules In New York, 55 Uic L. Rev. 485 (2022), Sarah Hopkins

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Racial Capitalism: Complexities With Enforcing Corporate Commitments To End Racial Injustice, 55 Uic L. Rev. 519 (2022), Natè Simmons

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Uncomfortable Truth: Law As A Weapon Of Oppression Of The Indigenous Peoples Of Southern New England, James D. Diamond

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Mohegan Women, The Mohegan Church, And The Lasting Of The Mohegan Nation, Bethany R. Berger, Chloe Scherpa

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Attempt To Bring Modern Workplace Realities To The Social Security Disability Adjudication System, Robert E. Rains

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

No abstract provided.

Minority And Vulnerable Populations Voting By Mail: A Convenience Or A Disadvantage, Kylan Sophia Josephine Memminger

Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Mail-in voting has feverishly gained popularity in the United States over the last few primary and general elections. In light of this new balloting reality, a trend has emerged. Statistics from minority and vulnerable populations reveal that mail-in ballots composed and sent by these groups have been consistently rejected at a higher rate compared to majority populations. This Note begins by surveying the constitutional background for bringing a challenge to voting rights legislation, while confronting the divisive history of legal precedent surrounding these claims. This Note then analyzes the Supreme Court’s decision in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board and …

No Runs, Few Hits And Many Errors: Street Stops, Bias And Proactive Policing, Jeffrey A. Fagan

Faculty Scholarship

Equilibrium models of racial discrimination in law enforcement encounters suggest that in the absence of racial discrimination, the proportion of searches yielding evidence of illegal activity (the hit rate) will be equal across races. Searches that disproportionately target one racial group, resulting in a relatively low hit rate, are inefficient and suggest bias. An unbiased officer who is seeking to maximize her hit rate would reduce the number of unproductive stops toward a group with the lower hit rate. An unbiased policing regime would generate no differences in hit rates between groups.

We use this framework to test for racial …

Returning Home And Restoring Trust: A Legal Framework For Federally Non- Recognized Tribal Nations To Acquire Ancestral Lands In Fee Simple, Taino J. Palermo

Roger Williams University Law Review

No abstract provided.

White Vigilantism And The Racism Of Race-Neutrality, Christian Sundquist

Articles

Race-neutrality has long been touted in American law as central to promoting racial equality while guarding against race-based discrimination. And yet the legal doctrine of race-neutrality has perversely operated to shield claims of racial discrimination from judicial review while protecting discriminators from liability and punishment. This Article critiques the doctrine of race-neutrality by examining the law’s response to white vigilantism in the much-publicized criminal trials of Kyle Rittenhouse and that of Ahmaud Arbery’s assailants.

Cause For Concern Or Cause For Celebration?: Did Bostock V. Clayton County Establish A New Mixed Motive Theory For Title Vii Case And Make It Easier For Plaintiffs To Prove Discrimination Claims?, Terrence Cain

Seattle University Law Review

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee “because of” race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This seems simple enough, but if an employer makes an adverse employment decision partly for an impermissible reason and partly for a permissible reason, i.e., if the employer acts with a mixed motive, has the employer acted “because of” the impermissible reason? According to Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. and University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center v. Nassar, the answer is no. The Courts in Gross and Nassar held …

Mary Lou Graves, Nolen Breedlove, And The Nineteenth Amendment, Ellen D. Katz

Articles

This close examination of two cases is part of a larger ongoing project to provide a distinct account of the Nineteenth Amendment. In 1921, the Alabama Supreme Court held the Nineteenth Amendment required that any poll tax be imposed equally on men and women. Sixteen years later, the Supreme Court disagreed. Juxtaposing these two cases, and telling their story in rich context, captures my larger claim that—contrary to the general understanding in the scholarly literature—the Nineteenth Amendment was deliberately crafted as a highly circumscribed measure that would eliminate only the exclusively male franchise while serving steadfastly to preserve and promote …

Basketball On Strike: The All-Stars Of The Fight For Racial Equality, Sherif Robert Hesni Jr.

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

National Basketball Association players have a long history of fighting against racial injustice. In August 2020, players participated in the most attention-grabbing endeavor to date: a league-wide strike against racial discrimination in the United States. Refusing to play games entails financial risk for players because of a no-strike clause in the collective bargaining agreement between the National Basketball Players Association and National Basketball Association team governors. Team governors can fine, bench, or fire players for refusing to play. However, it may be infeasible to discipline players for attempting to fight for racial equality—-players are extremely important to the well-being of …

Grey State, Blue City: Defending Local Control Against Confederate “Historical Preservation”, Sage Snider

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Confederate monuments have become lightning rods across the American landscape. While these ubiquitous symbols have spread Lost Cause propaganda for over one hundred years, they have also instigated unprecedented protest and violence since the 2015 Charleston massacre, 2017 Charlottesville rally, and 2020 George Floyd murder. In response, southern state legislatures have passed preemptory “statue statutes,” laws that obstruct left-leaning cities from removing Confederate monuments. This Note compares the political and legal strategies cities and citizens have used to overcome these legal barriers, both in opposition to individual monuments and statue statutes themselves. Using Tennessee’s Historical Commission waiver process as a …

Honoring Lutie A. Lytle And John Mercer Langston With Our Words, Carliss Chatman

Washington and Lee Law Review

The recent attacks on critical race theory make one fact very clear: the lack of Black voices in public discourse creates distortion and exploitation. This inaugural Black Scholars Book, the first of its kind published annually, is not about defining or justifying critical race theory—as some scholars in this book would not deem themselves to be critical race theorists. Instead, it is about righting the wrongs that enable the weaponization of scholarship by and about Black people. The goal of the W&L Law Review is to hold space for scholarship of historically marginalized and silenced voices. This inaugural book contains …

‘Nothing About Us Without Us’: Toward A Liberatory Heterodox Halakha, Laynie Soloman, Russell G. Pearce

Touro Law Review

The role and function of “halakha” (Jewish law) in Jewish communal life is a divisive issue: while Orthodox Jews tend to embrace Jewish law, non-Orthodox Jews (here deemed “Heterodox”) generally reject Jewish law and halakhic discourse. We will explore the way in which Robert Cover’s work offers an antidote to categorical Heterodox distaste for halakha specifically, and law more broadly, providing a pathway into an articulation of halakha that may speak to Heterodox Jews specifically: one that is driven by creative “jurisgenerative” potential, that is informed by a paideic pluralism, and that is fundamentally democratic in its commitment to being …

Robert Cover And Critical Race Theory, Gabriel J. Chin

Touro Law Review

Professor Robert Cover is recognized as a leading scholar of law and literature; decades after his untimely passing, his works continue to be widely cited. Because of his interest in narrative, he is credited as a contributor to the development of Critical Race Theory. This essay proposes that in addition to narrative, some of his other, substantive works about race were also important precursors to a more sophisticated appreciation of U.S. race relations. Professor Cover is also entitled to credit for understanding racism as a pervasive system, and one which went beyond Black and White.

Bridges Of Law, Ideology, And Commitment, Steven L. Winter

Touro Law Review

Law has a distinctive temporal structure—an ontology—that defines it as a social institution. Law knits together past, present, purpose, and projected future into a demand for action. Robert Cover captures this dynamic in his metaphor of law as a bridge to an imagined future. Law’s orientation to the future necessarily poses the question of commitment or complicity. For law can shape the future only when people act to make it real. Cover’s bridge metaphor provides a lens through which to explore the complexities of law’s ontology and the pathologies that arise from its neglect or misuse. A bridge carries us …

Denial Of Housing To African Americans: Post-Slavery Reflections From A Civil Rights Advocate, Elaine Gross

Touro Law Review

In this article, I draw on two decades of experience as a civil rights advocate to reflect on the denial of housing to African Americans in post-slavery America. I do so as Founder and President of the civil rights organization, ERASE Racism. I undertake historical research and share insights from my own experience to create and reflect upon six lessons related to understanding the systematic discrimination and segregation of African Americans. The lessons encompass: (1) the role of the federal government, (2) the role of municipal governments, (3) White supremacy ideation and actions, (4) legislative advocacy and legal actions, (5) …