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Full-Text Articles in Law
Towards A Balanced Approach For The Protection Of Native American Sacred Sites, Alex Tallchief Skibine
Towards A Balanced Approach For The Protection Of Native American Sacred Sites, Alex Tallchief Skibine
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
Protection of "sacred sites" is very important to Native American religious practitioners because it is intrinsically tied to the survival of their cultures, and therefore to their survival as distinct peoples. The Supreme Court in Oregon v. Smith held that rational basis review, and not strict scrutiny, was the appropriate level of judicial review when evaluating the constitutionality of neutral laws of general applicability even when these laws impacted one's ability to practice a religion. Reacting to the decision, Congress enacted the Relgious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which reinstated the strict scrutiny test for challenges to neutral laws of general …
Is A Burrito A Sandwich? Exploring Race, Class, And Culture In Contracts, Marjorie Florestal
Is A Burrito A Sandwich? Exploring Race, Class, And Culture In Contracts, Marjorie Florestal
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
A superior court in Worcester, Massachusetts, recently determined that a burrito is not a sandwich. Surprisingly, the decision sparked a firestorm of media attention. Worcester, Massachusetts, is hardly the pinnacle of the culinary arts-so why all the interest in the musings of one lone judge on the nature of burritos and sandwiches? Closer inspection revealed the allure of this otherwise peculiar case: Potentially thousands of dollars turned on the interpretation of a single word in a single clause of a commercial contract. Judge Locke based his decision on "common sense" and a single definition of sandwich-"two thin pieces of bread, …
Black Musical Traditions And Copyright Law: Historical Tensions, Candace G. Hines
Black Musical Traditions And Copyright Law: Historical Tensions, Candace G. Hines
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
This Note begins with a discussion of copyright law and then examines Black musical traditions and how they have conflicted with American copyright law through the years. Part I explains the history of American copyright law and its theoretical underpinnings. Part II relates common Black musical traditions in more detail. Part III illustrates how the foundations of Black musical traditions can be found in Negro Spirituals. Part IV outlines the notion of Black music as it evolved in ragtime. Part V describes how copyright undermined the traditions of blues, jazz, and R&B. Part VI explains how rock 'n' roll's prominence …
The Ethnic Question In Law And Development, Lan Cao
The Ethnic Question In Law And Development, Lan Cao
Michigan Law Review
World on Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability, by Professor Amy Chua, is an analytically complex narrative of contemporary ethnic violence in the current era of globalization. Although such violence has historical roots, according to Chua it has also been fueled by free-market forces and democratization. The book is a forceful and provocative indictment of the current U.S. policy of promoting and exporting markets and democracy to developing and formerly communist, market-transitional countries. In her book, Professor Chua applies her thesis - that ethnicity, global capitalism, and democracy are a volatile mix - …
Beyond State Sovereignty: The Protection Of Cultural Heritage As A Shared Interest Of Humanity, Francesco Francioni
Beyond State Sovereignty: The Protection Of Cultural Heritage As A Shared Interest Of Humanity, Francesco Francioni
Michigan Journal of International Law
In this paper the author will try to explore the topic from a different perspective: i.e. the emergence of cultural heritage as part of the shared interest of humanity, with the consequent need for international law to safeguard it in its material and living manifestations, including the cultural communities that create, perform and maintain it. Culture in itself is not extraneous to the formation of the modern nation State. Especially in the history of nineteenth century Europe, culture as language, religion, literary and artistic traditions provided the cement and the legitimizing element to support the claim to independent statehood.
Derechos Y Honra Públicos: Louis Martinet, Plessy Contra Ferguson Y El Acceso A La Ley En Luisiana, 1888-1917, Rebecca J. Scott
Derechos Y Honra Públicos: Louis Martinet, Plessy Contra Ferguson Y El Acceso A La Ley En Luisiana, 1888-1917, Rebecca J. Scott
Articles
Rebecca J. Scott explores the historical context of Plessy v. Ferguson to two ends. First, Scott argues that that the historical situation, including everyday legal practice, helps us understand the source of the arguments in the case. In particular, the plaintiffs based their understanding of their rights in the French revolution, the Louisiana Constitution, and their experience exercising their rights through notaries. Second, Scott argues that the plaintiffs and defendants sought to frame the case with different rights. For the plaintiffs, the issue with the Separate Car Act was "public rights" and "the dignity of citizenship." The defendants instead framed …
A General Theory Of Cultural Diversity, Steven A. Ramirez
A General Theory Of Cultural Diversity, Steven A. Ramirez
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
This Article seeks to extend the analysis of these developments in the corporate world to anti-discrimination law under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This Article will show that discrimination based upon cultural insights or experiences is distinct from race discrimination and will articulate a general theory of why and under what circumstances this holds true. The difference between culture-based discrimination and using culture as a proxy for race (Which would then be race discrimination) requires a careful and non-mythological understanding of what race is, and what race is not. Moreover, showing that culture discrimination is not prohibited …
Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans, And Latcrit Theory: Commonalities And Differences Between Latina/O Experiences, Kevin R. Johnson
Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans, And Latcrit Theory: Commonalities And Differences Between Latina/O Experiences, Kevin R. Johnson
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
This Essay situates Professor Malavet's analysis in LatCrit theory. The diminished citizenship status of Puerto Ricans on the island shares important commonalities with and differences from the experiences of persons of Mexican ancestry in the United States. Both Mexican Americans and Puerto Ricans enjoy citizenship and membership rights unequal to those accorded Anglos, although one group (Mexican Americans) is composed of citizens by law with full legal rights while the other (Puerto Ricans) includes United States citizens with limited legal rights in Puerto Rico. The guarantees of the law historically have held limited meaning for Mexican Americans; the limitation on …
The New Cultural Diversity And Title Vii, Steven A. Ramirez
The New Cultural Diversity And Title Vii, Steven A. Ramirez
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
This Article will show that the most progressive diversity initiatives taking hold in the business community are facially neutral in their approach, merit-driven, and fundamentally culture-conscious (as opposed to race-conscious). These initiatives do not allow for any racial preference or gender preference and draw any such bias not from the inherent values of diversity but from the largely segregated pre-existing corporate tradition: hiring culturally aware minorities unleashes value because they bring insights previously unavailable to segregated businesses. In other words, White males can be and are hired in the name of cultural diversity when they bring cultural insights to the …
Puerto Rico: Cultural Nation, American Colony, Pedro A. Malavet
Puerto Rico: Cultural Nation, American Colony, Pedro A. Malavet
Michigan Journal of Race and Law
This Article articulates a theory of Puerto Rican cultural nationhood that is largely based on ethnicity. In linking ethnicity and citizenship, it is imperative, however, to avoid the evils of ethnic strife and balkanization, while celebrating rather than imposing difference; community consciousness cannot degenerate into fascism.