UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SCHOOL OF LAW
Kim Forde-Mazrui
Professor of Law and Justice Thurgood Marshall Research Professor
Director, Center for the Study of Race and Law
MEMORANDUM
To:
John C. Jeffries, Jr., Dean
Cc:
James E. Ryan, Academic Associate Dean
From:
Kim Forde-Mazrui, Director, Center for the Study of Race and Law
Date:
November 18, 2005
Re:
Report on Center for the Study of Race and Law Activities, 2004-05
___________________________________________________________________________________
I am pleased to report on the activities of the Center for the Study of Race and Law during its second
year, September 2004 to May 2005. In keeping with its mission to provide opportunities for students, scholars,
practitioners, and community members to examine and exchange ideas related to race and law, the Center
sponsored and co-sponsored numerous programs during the last year. These included a mini-course, public
lectures, scholarly lunch presentations, evening book discussions, and panel presentations involving speakers
from law schools across the country as well as law school alumni. Topics included critical race theory, terrorist
detainees, interracial and same-sex relationships, race, gender and the family, reparations for slavery, school
integration, unconscious bias, racial dynamics in law firms, and racially motivated incidents within the UVA
community. The Center also supported and promoted events addressing race and law issues that were
sponsored by other organizations within the law school community.
Short Course
Professor R. Richard Banks
•
In March 2005, Professor Richard Banks of Stanford Law School taught a two-week course at
the law school, entitled “Race, Marriage and Inequality.” Students examined differences in rates of
marital formation and dissolution among various racial and ethnic groups, projected the consequences of
such differences for the well-being of adults and children, and considered the link, if any, between a
group’s rate of marriage and dissolution on one hand and rate of intermarriage on the other. In addition
to examining the views of legal scholars and court cases, students considered the work of sociologists,
psychologists, and economists. The course material was based on Professor Banks’s forthcoming
book, tentatively entitled Segregated Intimacy.
Public Lectures
Professor Rennard Strickland ‘65
•
On October 21, 2004, University of Virginia Law School alumnus and former dean of the
University of Oregon School of Law Professor Rennard Strickland ’65 presented a talk entitled “Spirit
Red: Legal Dispatches from the Heart of the Native American Nations.” Professor Strickland
explained that the history of Native American struggles have been waged on both the intellectual and
military fronts, by both “the book and the bow,” but American history too often dismisses the intellectual
and cultural aspects of Native American survival, exaggerating the extent to which Native Americans
have resorted to military means. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and
Law and the Student Legal Forum.
Professor Jerry Kang
•
On November 18, 2004, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Korematsu v. U.S.
(1944) the Center co-sponsored two events with the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association
(APALSA). In a lunch presentation based on his article “Trojan Horses of Race,” Professor Jerry
Kang of UCLA Law School discussed the implications of empirical studies revealing widespread
unconscious racial stereotypes for television broadcast practices that may exacerbate such stereotypes
through racial depictions in local news stories.
In an afternoon lecture in Caplin Pavilion, entitled “Watching the Watchers: The Enemy
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Combatant Cases in the Internment’s Shadow,” Professor Kang drew parallels and contrasts
between executive, congressional and judicial support for the Internment of Japanese-Americans during
World War II and the current war on terrorism, including the treatment of enemy combatants and events
at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
•
On February 24, 2005, Professor Daria Roithmayr of the University of Illinois College of Law
and a scholar of critical race theory, presented a lecture entitled “Locked in Segregation: A Market
Lock-In Model of Racial Inequality.” Roithmayr developed the lock-in model of inequality, which
compares persistent racial disparity to persistent monopoly power that continues long after the original
anti-competitive conduct has ceased. In her presentation, Roithmayr explored the implications of
applying the lock-in model of inequality to the problem of residential segregation. The event was cosponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Law and the Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the
Law.
Students from Race and Law class and community members
discuss legal ramifications of hate speech
•
On March 2, 2005, Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui opened the doors of his Race and Law
seminar to the university community for a discussion about “Legal Responses to Hate Speech.” The
forum was an effort to enhance understanding about recent incidents of racially motivated hate speech at
the University of Virginia and to suggest possible legal responses. The event was co-sponsored by the
Center for the Study of Race and Law and the Black Law Students Association.
Panel Presentations
•
On September 14, 2004, the Center sponsored a Student Scholarship Panel on which faculty
members discussed emerging issues in race and law, and suggested possible topics for research papers
and student notes. The panelists were resident professors Risa Goluboff and Kim Forde-Mazrui, and
visiting professors Tomiko Brown-Nagin of Washington University in St. Louis and Myriam Gilles of
Cardozo Law School.
•
On February 12, 2005, the Center co-sponsored with the Conference on Public Service and
the Law a panel discussion, “(Re)Examining Slavery Reparations.” Panelists included: Kim FordeMazrui, Justice Thurgood Marshall Research Professor, University of Virginia School of Law; K.
Lawrie Balfour, Assistant Professor, Woodrow Wilson Department of Politics, University of Virginia;
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and Adrienne D. Davis, Reef C. Ivey II Research Professor of Law, University of North CarolinaChapel Hill School of Law. The panelists discussed various moral theories supporting reparations for
slavery and discrimination, as well as serious practical and theoretical difficulties facing such theories.
Scholarly Lunch Discussions
The Scholarly Lunch Discussions created an informal forum for several of the law school’s resident and
visiting professors to engage in discussions about their areas of research with students and faculty. Presentations
included talks by visiting professors Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Mitu Gulati, Kyle Logue, and Gordon Hylton; Short
Course Visiting Professor Richard Banks; and resident faculty David Martin and Kim Forde-Mazrui.
Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui, Director, Center for the Study of Race and Law
•
On September 30, 2004, Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui presented a talk entitled “Are
Interracial Relationships More Legitimate Than Same-Sex Relationships?” Forde-Mazrui drew a
number of parallels between historic opposition to interracial relationships and contemporary opposition
to same-sex relationships. He also identified similarities between racially passing and remaining in the
sexual orientation closet. Forde-Mazrui concluded that the parallels between interracial and same-sex
relationships suggest treating them as equally legitimate. The talk was co-sponsored by the Center for
the Study of Race and Law and the Lambda Law Alliance.
Professor Kyle Logue
•
On November 16, 2004, Visiting Professor Kyle Logue of the University of Michigan Law
School presented his talk, “Reparations as Redistribution.” Professor Logue argued that since race
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strongly correlates with differences in well-being, is relatively immutable (or at least not a function of
work and leisure choices), and is relatively observable, a program of racial redistribution can have the
properties of a distributively just, lump-sum transfer. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race
and Law.
•
On February 9, 2005, Visiting Professor J. Gordon Hylton of Marquette University Law
School explored whether the signing of Jackie Robinson unwittingly averted legally mandated integration
of major league teams to the detriment of the pace of baseball’s integration. In his lecture, “Did Jackie
Robinson Slow Integration of Baseball?”, Professor Hylton argued that Robinson’s signing prematurely
halted an ongoing campaign in New York and Massachusetts to use recently adopted state employment
discrimination laws to force the five major league teams in those two states to abandon their
discriminatory practices in player hiring. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Law.
•
On March 15, 2005, Short-Course Visiting Professor Richard Banks of Stanford Law School
presented a talk on “Bias About Unconscious Racial Bias.” The talk explained the emerging body of
empirical work on social cognition that finds unconscious racial biases in most people, including people
who are consciously race-neutral. Professor Banks raised questions about the extent to which the
studies truly explain real world behavior, such as police shootings of minority suspects. He suggested
that researchers may be overly motivated (biased) to establish the relevance of their work for legal
policy. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Law.
Professor David Martin
•
On April 4, 2005, Professor David Martin presented his talk, “Offshore Detainees in the War
on Terrorism: What Role for Courts after Rasul v. Bush (2004)?” Martin’s talk reflected on how to
structure administrative and judicial review of enemy combatant detention so as to maximize protection
of the innocent, but still provide realistically for military needs in the struggle against terrorism. The event
was co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Law and the J.B. Moore Society of
International Law.
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Professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin
•
On April 14, 2005, Visiting Professor Tomiko Brown-Nagin of Washington University in St.
Louis presented a lunch talk entitled “Conceptions of Equality in Justice Thomas's Race Jurisprudence.”
Professor Brown-Nagin argued that, while many criticisms of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
are justified, she observes that much of the criticism is overheated, exaggerated, and unfair. She further
argued that if academics and advocates want Thomas to act on racial-justice issues, they must find a
way to reach him on his own terms. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Law.
•
On April 19, 2005, Visiting Professor Mitu Gulati of the Georgetown Law Center held an
informal discussion entitled “Race and the Internal Dynamics of Large Law Firms." The session
explored with students Gulati’s research on how race and gender factor into the internal dynamics of
large, bureaucratic law firms. Sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Law.
Seminar in Ethical Values
The Center sponsored a Seminar in Ethical Values that focused on race-related classic and
contemporary literature. Hosted by Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui, a group of ten students met five times
throughout the 2004-05 term for two hours per session to discuss the following books: BELOVED (1987), by
Toni Morrison; THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER (1940), by Carson McCullers; THEIR EYES WERE
WATCHING GOD (1937), by Zora Neale Hurston; SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS (1995), by David Guterson;
CRY, THE BELOVED COUNTRY (1948), by Alan Paton. The discussions were thoughtful, at times personal,
tense, and sad, and often filled with spontaneous laughter. Everyone reported (anonymously through course
evaluations) a very rewarding experience.
Across Grounds
The Center participated in events outside the law school on the central grounds of the University of
Virginia:
•
On April 1, 2005, Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui presented his lecture “Are Interracial
Relationships More Legitimate than Same-Sex Relationships” at the Newcomb Hall Ballroom,
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University of Virginia. The event was co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Law and
Lambda Theta Alpha Sorority.
•
On April 12, 2005, the Center for the Study of Race and Law co-sponsored with the
Kaleidoscope Center for Cultural Fluency a panel discussion entitled “ReAction to Affirmative Action:
Are These the Faces of Affirmative Action?” The panelists were Madelyn Wessel, civil rights attorney
and Special Advisor to the University of Virginia Librarian, Theresa Carroll, Assistant Dean for
Admissions, University of Virginia Nursing School, and Kim Forde-Mazrui, Director of the Center for
the Study of Race and Law, as well as law student Timothy Lovelace, President of the Black Law
Student Association. The panel was moderated by law student Ted Jou, President of the Asian Pacific
American Law Student Association. The event was held in the Kaleidoscope Center in Newcomb Hall,
University of Virginia.
Across Country
The Center participated in events outside the University of Virginia and the Commonwealth:
•
On February 24-26, 2005, the Center for the Study of Race and Race Relations at the
University of Florida held a conference entitled “Race and Law Curriculum Workshop,” which brought
together leading scholars of race and law from around the country to discuss how issues of race are or
should be incorporated into law school teaching and curricular offerings. Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui
was invited in his capacity as Director of the University of Virginia Center for the Study of Race and
Law to participate in the “Race Center Directors” panel. Other panelists were Professor Cheryl Harris,
Director of the Critical Race Studies Concentration, UCLA Law School, and Professor John A.
Powell, Director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, Ohio State University. The
panel was moderated by Professor Nancy Dowd, University of Florida College of Law. Professor
Forde-Mazrui’s participation was co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Race and Race
Relations and the Center for the Study of Race and Law.
•
On April 21, 2005, Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui delivered a lecture entitled "Gender, Race,
and the Constitution" at the Quadrangle, a retirement community in Haverford, Pennsylvania. The talk
compared and contrasted the Supreme Court’s approach to race and gender classifications, including
preferential treatment in the context of social security benefits. Forde-Mazrui was invited to give the
presentation by Elizabeth Hill, who is the widow of D. Peck Hill '48 and is a member of the law
school’s Dean's Council. Mrs. Hill invited Forde-Mazrui after reading about the Center for the Study of
Race and Law and the Justice Thurgood Marshall Research Professorship in the Fall 2004 issue of
UVA Lawyer (See Denise Forster, “Center Sparks Dialogue on Race and Law: Initiative Has
Promising First Year,” UVA LAWYER, Fall 2004, at 38, and “Alumni Work to Create Thurgood
Marshall Professorship,” UVA LAWYER, Fall 2004, at 12). Co-sponsored by the Quadrangle and the
Center for the Study of Race and Law.
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School Integration Manual with NAACP LDF and Harvard Civil Rights Project
Voluntary School Integration Manual
The Center for the Study of Race and Law collaborated with the NAACP Legal Defense &
Educational Fund and Harvard University’s Civil Rights Project to produce a publication that provides guidance
to public school systems and other interested organizations on the benefits of racial integration in elementary and
secondary education and how best to achieve integration consistent with constitutional limitations. The manual,
entitled "Looking to the Future: Voluntary K-12 School Integration," has been distributed in hard copy to
several hundred school districts and other organizations across the country, and can be downloaded for free at
the Center for the Study of Race and Law’s website: www.law.virginia.edu/race.
Additional Race-Related Programs at UVA School of Law
The Center also supports and promotes events addressed to race-related issues that are sponsored by other
organizations. Such events this past year included:
Health Economist Amitabh Chandra
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•
On December 1, 2004, Professor Amitabh Chandra, of Dartmouth University Department of
Economics, presented a talk entitled “Hospital Geography Helps Account for Racial Disparities in
Health Care.” Sponsored by the Sadie Lewis Webb Program in Law and Biomedicine.
Professor Michael Klarman
•
On February 2, 2005, Professor Michael Klarman, author of FROM JIM CROW TO CIVIL
RIGHTS: THE SUPREME COURT AND THE STRUGGLE FOR RACIAL EQUALITY (Oxford University Press,
2004), kicked off the Law School’s observation of Black History Month. During his discussion, which
was sponsored by the Black Law Students Association, Professor Klarman noted that a better
appreciation of history would increase public support for affirmative action policies and other attempts
to remedy the legacies of racial oppression.
Richard Cohen
•
On February 3, 2005, Richard Cohen, President and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law
Center (SPLC) gave a talk entitled, “War Stories From the Ongoing Civil Rights Struggle.” Cohen
spoke about the current work of the SPLC, the civil rights cases it litigates, and its educational projects.
The lecture was sponsored by the Student Legal Forum.
•
A panel discussion, “Changing Perspectives on Blacks in the Legal Community,” featured John
Merchant ’58, Adrienne Ashby ’98, and Professor Kim Forde-Mazrui. The event was part of the
Black Law Student Association’s biennial Alumni Reunion, which was held during the weekend of
February 18, 2005.
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•
On February 18, 2005, Professor Michael Klarman presented a lecture comparing Brown v.
Board of Education (1954) and Lawrence v. Texas (2003) that was co-sponsored by the American
Constitution Society and Lambda Law Alliance. During his lecture, Professor Klarman observed that
although the Lawrence decision avoided the issue of gay marriage, the Court in Brown and cases soon
after similarly avoided interracial marriage. Klarman predicted that the Court eventually would deem
classifications by sexual orientation unconstitutional, as public support for gay rights continues to
increase.
•
On February 10, 2005, Students United to Promote Racial Awareness (SUPRA) held a
discussion, entitled “Implicit Bias,” on a new online test for subconscious biases, and discussed
reactions to the results - both directly and in terms of how such biases might affect society.
Nick Kotz
•
On February 23, 2005, Nick Kotz, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting while a
reporter for the Washington Post, spoke about the subject of his book, JUDGMENT DAYS: LYNDON
BAINES JOHNSON, MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., AND THE LAWS THAT CHANGED AMERICA (2005).
According to Kotz, President Lyndon Baines Johnson and civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
were virtually co-conspirators in the critical months leading to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights
Act. The event was co-sponsored by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and the
Black Law Students Association.
•
On February 17, 2005, Ashley Taylor, partner at Troutman Sanders LLP, discussed “Civil
Rights Tools for Today’s Problems.” Taylor discussed his recent appointment to the United States
Commission for Civil Rights. Sponsored by the Black Law Students Association.
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