Law and Race Commons^™

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 …

History Of De Jure Segregation In Public Higher Education In America And The State Of Maryland Prior To 1954 And The Equalization Strategy, John K. Pierre

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Is Color Blind Justice Also Culturally Blind? The Cultural Blindness In Justice, Shiv Narayan Persaud

Journal Publications

As diverse ethnic groups continue to experience numeric growth and societal grounding in America, their advocacies for culturally competent representation within the legal system cannot be ignored or underplayed. Undoubtedly, some professions such as mental and physical health, and their related sectors, have developed and continue to integrate cultural competencies into their respective practices. Others such as the legal profession seem to lag in their advocacies and promotion of culturally competent practices.

In the criminal justice system, where discretionary legal decision-making authority is commonplace and may grossly affect the civil liberties of the citizenry, a paucity of standards requiring cultural …

Examining The "Stick" Of Accreditation For Medical Schools Through Reproductive Justice Lens: A Transformative Remedy For Teaching The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Deleso Alford Washington

Journal Publications

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, like the traditional recounting of the event, failed to acknowledge the direct impact of untreated syphilis in women. Arguably, the most infamous biomedical research study ever performed by the United States government is the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which occurred between 1932 and 1972 in Macon County, Alabama. The stated purpose of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study was to determine the effects of untreated syphilis on Black men in Macon County, Alabama. Accordingly, historical and legal accounts have primarily told the stories of the male participants of the Study.

However, an overlooked yet important question looms: What about …

A Conversation With President Obama: A Dialogue About Poverty, Race, And Class In Black America, Joseph Karl Grant

Journal Publications

The date is November 13, 2012.1 Just mere days ago, I received the invitation of a lifetime. Last night, I arrived in Washington, D.C. I am staying in the Hay-Adams Hotel on the third floor. I still cannot believe the extent of my life's journey. I have just been summoned to the White House by second term President-elect Barack Obama, who defeated Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for President on November 6, 2012. The 2012 Presidential Election was a hard-fought battle between Barack Obama on the Democratic side, and Mitt Romney on Republican side. The election was a like the …

Reaction To: Wealth, Poverty, And The Equal Protection Clause, Patricia A. Broussard

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Obama Effect: A Pipeline Issue, A Felicia Epps

Journal Publications

The law allows schools to strive for a "critical mass" of minority students. As law schools are already required to demonstrate a commitment to diversity, they must take steps to ensure that the pool of qualified candidates for positions in the academy expands instead of contracts. President Obama can have an impact on this process by taking steps to improve our educational system, encouraging students to make the most of their educations, and increasing the availability of higher education for all students. African Americans will then have access and ability to succeed in their academic pursuits. As a result, more …

Ghana Journey: Private Investment, Public Funding, And Domestic Reform, Ronald C. Griffin

Journal Publications

Some folks are good. But man is evil. He is driven by impulses, avarice, reason, scholarship, and barbarism. Ghana's history affirms some of the social and philosophical claims about man and evil. A scholarly narrative about American economic life, trenched in Ghana like an overlay, will unveil bits about big businesses, small businesses, and doing business in Ghana.

The Meeting: A Transformational Train Ride Through Race In America And Apartheid In South Africa, Joseph Karl Grant

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.

Critical Race Feminist Bioethics: Telling Stories In Law School And Medical School In Pursuit Of "Cultural Competency", Deleso Alford Washington

Journal Publications

This article examines how slavery and the concept of race intersect with gender to construct a distinct notion of science and technology that has been historically marginalized at best. The particular aspect of "science" that is explored is the development of the medical specialty of gynecology in the United States. The focal point of this article is to explore a means to address the impact of continuing to tell the narrative on the development of the medical specialty of gynecology in the United States without the benefit of a "herstorical" lens.

The Anatomy Of A "Pantsuit": Performance, Proxy And Presence For Women Of Color In Legal Education, Deleso Alford Washington

Journal Publications

This essay is intended to begin a dialogue on how the presence of women of color standing at the intersection of gender, race and class can don a pantsuit or not and still experience under-discussed social realities that influence the attainment of 21st Century leadership roles in the legal academy.

Non-Education In America: Gateway To Subsistence Living, Cheryl Page

Journal Publications

Dropout rates are the proverbial canary-in-the-coal-mine. If ever there was a predictor of poverty, discrimination, abuse, neglect, inability to parent-in short the suffering of an entire generation-it is the lack of experience and education we are affording our minority students. This lack of education is invariably accompanied by lack of not only opportunity, but sustainability. We have a potential generation of students unable to make their way through life independent of government support. The worst crime in a capitalist society is to leave an entire group without the skill set to compete. Perhaps the biggest hurdle to objectively identifying schools …

The Latino Lawful Permanent Resident Removal Cases: A Case Study Of Nicaragua And A Call For Fairness And Responsibility In The Administration Of U.S. Immigration Law, Maritza I. Reyes

Journal Publications

This Note aims to contribute to current dialogue by raising issues of fairness, responsibility, and human dignity that merit special consideration in any immigration reform proposal regarding the laws that apply to lawful permanent residents who have committed crimes. Part I analyzes the underlying motivation for the enactment of the immigration laws that were passed in 1996. Part II utilizes a case analysis of issues faced by deportees from Nicaragua to illustrate how the foreign policy of the United States affects the governments, economies, and migration trends of other countries. Parts III and IV borrow from the analysis in Part …

Reflecting On The Dream Of The Marathon Man: Black Dean Longevity And Its Impact On Opportunity And Diversity, Leroy Pernell

Journal Publications

At the beginning of the 2005-2006 academic year there was, what many viewed, as a comparatively bounteous crop of African-American deans of ABA-approved law schools. However, several changes during that year caused the crop to diminish rapidly. At the time of this writing, there are eighteen deans of color at American Bar Association approved law schools within the United States. Of these, fifteen are African-American and two are Latino. Of this number, five African-American deans are deans of law schools associated with historically black universities. These comments address, not necessarily the absolute number of African-American or Latino deans at any …

Hurricane Katrina And Collective Identity: Seeing Through A "Her-Storical Lens", Deleso Alford Washington

Journal Publications

This paper will explore the black wombman's intersection of race, class, and sex during the early twentieth century, specifically as it relates to the pursuit of federal anti-lynching legislation. The central focus will be on the courageous efforts of black women to protect life by virtue of nommo, which means power of the spoken word.

Equal Protection - Florida's Disenfranchisement Law: Appellate Court Affirms Decision Finding Disenfranchisement Provision Does Not Violate Constitution - Johnson V. Governor Of The State Of Florida, Et. Al., 405 F.3d 1214 (11th Cir. 2005), Arthenia L. Joyner

Florida A & M University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Two "Wrongs" Do/Can Make A Right: Remembering Mathematics, Physics, & Various Legal Analogies (Two Negatives Make A Positive; Are Remedies Wrong?) The Law Has Made Him Equal, But Man Has Not, John C. Duncan Jr

Journal Publications

This article demonstrates the incomplete logic and inconsistent legal reasoning used in the argument against affirmative action. The phrase "two wrongs don't make a right" is often heard in addressing various attempts to equalize, to balance, and to correct the acknowledged wrongs of slavery and segregation and their derivative effects. Yet, "two wrongs do/can make a right" has a positive connotation. This article reviews the history of societal and judicial wrongs against Blacks, as well as the evolution of the narrowing in legal reasoning concerning discrimination against minorities, including Blacks. Next, the legal reasoning behind legacy programs will be reviewed …

"Every Shut Eye, Ain't Sleep": Exploring The Impact Of Crack Cocaine Sentencing And The Illusion Of Reproductive Rights For Black Women From A Critical Race Feminist Perspective, Deleso Alford Washington

Journal Publications

For purposes of this paper, I will address societal regulations imposed upon the Black wombman's ability to control her reproductive rights. As we - Critical Race Feminist ("CRF") theorists who are becoming more empowered Critical Race Feminist activists - engage in necessary dialogue, there must be an appropriate point of departure. Once CRF theorists open our eyes, we will see what I refer to as "her-story." We will also see that it is time to move into action mode in order to address the illusion of reproductive rights for Black women.

Brown Did Not Fail America, America Failed Brown, Patricia A. Broussard

Journal Publications

It is my belief that the failure of Brown v. Board of Education and the continuing problem of race in America stems from the fact that America never took ownership of the promise of Brown, and instead, viewed the decision purely in terms of desegregation, as opposed to integration. Consequently, integration has remained a concept instead of an action item. Implicit in this notion of desegregation is the idea that the races sit next to one another, while the concept of integration carries with it a much heavier burden. It appears that the races have never made a personal …

Jubilee, Ronald C. Griffin

Journal Publications

This essay chronicles the work and celebrates the achievements of blacks and others who lived in and escaped the thralldom of white supremacy.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other: Analogizing Ageism To Racism In Employment Discrimination Cases, Rhonda M. Reaves

Journal Publications

The development of anti-discrimination law in the employment context was designed and applied with the elimination of race discrimination in mind. The expansion of anti-discrimination law to older workers has taken place within a legal system that encourages groups to present themselves as "similar to" African Americans. This article explores the difficulty of applying general anti-discrimination principles to the uniquely positioned group of older workers.

Updating Resources

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

To ensure the student was relying on good case law, they would use Shepard’s Florida Citations to determine whether Eggart v. State had received any negative treatment by subsequent courts. For example, the case would be reviewed to determine if it had been overruled, superseded, deemed unconstitutional or received any other treatment that would negate or lessen its precedential value. According to the Shepard’s entry, at the time, the case was discussed and followed several times and remained good law.

You can see a scan of the Shepard’s entry for Eggart v. State below. The citation for the Shepard’s volume …

Shepard's Florida Citations

Research in Virgil Hawkins' World of Print--Historical Print Research Project No. 1: Abortion

As a lawyer or law student, any time you cite a case in support of a legal argument, you must check whether its authority has changed as a result of more recent decisions. Before the advent of the Internet, this process was typically done using a print tool called a citator. The principle citator at the time of the original FAMU law school was Shepard’s Citations, an indexing resource developed by Frank Shepard during the 19th century. Citators allow you to determine if your case is still good law and it acts as a research tool to find other cases …

A&M Florida A&M University Magazine For Employees, Alumni And Friends: The Return Of The Famu College Of Law, Florida Agricultural And Mechanical University

Annual Reports and Publications

This issue celebrates the return of the FAMU College of Law. This posting includes former FAMU President Frederick S. Humphries' "President's Message" entitled Celebrating the Return of the College of Law and the Cover Story from the issue, The Rebirth of the FAMU College of Law 1949-1968 2000-Present. It contains a compilation of excerpts from Chapter Five in the The Florida Agricultural and Meghanical University College of Law (1949-2000) written by Larry O. Rivers.

The American 'Legal' Dilemma: Colorblind I/Colorblind Ii--The Rules Have Changed Again: A Semantic Apothegmatic Permutation, John C. Duncan Jr

Journal Publications

"Our Constitution is colorblind" initially meant that white majority preferences could not and should not be reflected in government action. The maxim now means race should not be reflected at all in government action. The answer to racism lies somewhere between well-reasoned "blind" hope and historically-proven skepticism. Part I of this Article discusses the ideal of the colorblind society; Part II discusses what this Article deems as Colorblind I. Part III places each colorblind argument in perspective, and seeks to illustrate that the concept of colorblindness could be an ideal, but has rather become meaningless rhetoric in an endless racial …

Affirmative Action, A Look At South Africa And The United States: A Question Of Pigmentation Or Leveling The Playing Field, Lundy Langston

Journal Publications

Affirmative action is one of the most divisive issues in the United States today.' Proponents of affirmative action argue that the United States has not come far enough in leveling the playing field. They argue that affirmative action programs are needed as much today-if not more-than when the balancing policies initially took effect. Opponents of affirmative action argue that race-based decision-making is undemocratic and discriminates against the majoritarian members in United States society. As we prepare to exit the twentieth century, we are confronted with the need to resolve the affirmative action dilemma. Do we eliminate affirmative-action programs altogether and …

Sweep Searches--The Rights Of The Community, And The Guarantees Of The Fourth And First Amendments: Moms Of The Chicago Public Housing Complex, Revisit Your Civil And Constitutional Rights And Save Your Babies, Lundy Langston

Journal Publications

African-American babies are an endangered species. They have the potential to live to the ripe old age of fourteen. We are singing new songs of overcoming-overcoming the loss of our babies. However, it's the same song: the lyrics are Black, and the music is, as always, White. Across the nation let us hold hands, let us gather together, let us save our babies. Will the music, the lyrics of our collective songs, save our babies? Is there a collective voice? There must be a collective voice if we are to save our babies and WE must save them if we …

Force African-American Fathers To Parent Their Delinquent Sons - A Factor To Be Considered At The Dispositional Stage, Lundy Langston

Journal Publications

What species can survive and function when a substantial segment of its young male population is harnessed by the burdens of substance abuse, unemployment, and incarceration? Empirical data suggests that these maladies have infected African-American males at a rate alarmingly disproportionate to that of other races. This trend, if it continues, suggests that America is creating a dysfunctional class. In this Article the term "dysfunctional" refers to a predicament wherein African-American males engage in violent activities.' Their conduct may be attributable to their inability to contribute to the family or smaller groups which form the foundation of the social order …

Overcoming Environmental Discrimination: The Need For A Disparate Impact Test And Improved Notice Requirements In Facility Siting Decisions, Omar Saleem

Journal Publications

No abstract provided.