DEI Newsletterat Fordham Law
| |
Dear Fordham Law Community,
This has been a month of reflection and reaction, celebration and contemplation. As Dean Diller noted in his latest update, the trials connected to the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor are all reaching important milestones this week, and “it’s clear that our pursuit of equality, human dignity, and justice continues.” We have a vast degree of programming at the Law School focused on grappling with that fundamental pursuit – from Nikole Hannah-Jones’ important talk at the top of Black History Month to BLSA’s commemorative event on Monday honoring trailblazers to our new Batts Scholars and beyond. We hope that you are prioritizing your overall wellness and health as we forge ahead together.
Warmly,
Kimathi Gordon-Somers, Assistant Dean of Student Affairs & Diversity
Kamille Dean, Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
| |
| Celebrate Black History Month with BLSA
| |
Fordham's Black Law Students Association is hosting Roads to Success: Blazing Trails for Future Black Lawyers on Monday, February 28 at 7:00 pm.
The celebration will honor Black Fordham Law alumni who have blazed trails for future Black lawyers by attaining significant achievements in the legal industry and beyond. Learn more and register here.
| |
Ferrell Littlejohn ’24 and Afrika Owes ’24 Named This Year’s Recipients of the Hon. Deborah A. Batts Scholarship
Ferrell Littlejohn ’24 and Afrika Owes ’24 have been named this year’s recipients of the Hon. Deborah A. Batts Scholarship.
Judge Batts, the first Black faculty member to receive tenure at Fordham Law and a U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, broke barriers by becoming the first openly LGBTQ judge to sit on the federal bench in 1994. She passed away on February 3, 2020. The Deborah A. Batts Scholarship Fund, launched at Fordham Law in her memory in 2021, provides support for students dedicated to using their legal education to promote social justice, civil rights, and equality. The scholarship recipients work with Fordham Law’s Center on Race, Law and Justice on original research and analysis.
| |
Pulitzer Prize Winner Nikole Hannah-Jones Delivers Fordham Law School’s Inaugural Eunice Carter Lecture
Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of The New York Times Magazine’s “1619 Project,” a collection of articles that examines the legacies and consequences of slavery in America, graced the stage at Fordham Law School to speak with more than 500 members from the Fordham community in a hybrid event held in-person and broadcast online.
Professor Hannah-Jones served as the inaugural speaker of the Law School’s first Eunice Carter Lecture Series on Feb. 1, discussing America’s incomplete historical understandings of race and how our lack of a common foundational understanding of U.S. history threatens the American experiment and future of democracy.
| |
Fordham Law Welcomes Zenande Booi and Dominique Bravo to the Center on Race, Law and Justice
Zenande Booi and Dominique Bravo are feeling optimistic about the spring 2022 semester—and beyond—as they join the Fordham Law School community in their new positions at the Center of Race, Law and Justice.
Booi was named the Center’s executive director in January, and Bravo was appointed associate executive director in October. Both have been making introductions to faculty, alumni, and students and sharing their experiences, careers, and goals.
Read More >
| |
Spring 2022 Orientation Events Focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion were the focus of several spring orientation events held on January 18 and 19 that kicked off the new semester for first-year law students. Through interactive and practice-specific panel discussions and presentations, students were able to learn more about diversity, equity, and inclusion in law firm settings and in-house legal departments, as well as explore careers in social justice and public interest that engage with some of these topics.
This year’s keynote address was delivered by attorney M. Quentin Williams, founder and chief executive officer of Dedication to Community.
Read More >
| |
The Career Planning Center is hosting a Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Networking Reception.
Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 4:30 pm - 6:15 pm.
This event will provide an opportunity for students to meet and build connections with diverse attorneys and recruiting/DEI professionals in the private sector. It will also provide a venue to learn about attorneys’ career paths, law firm diversity initiatives, various practice areas, and firm cultures.
| |
Fordham's Asian Pacific American Law Student Association hosted a Lunar New Year celebration. Students came together to enjoy traditional foods, a Lion dance, a lantern display, and more. Get involved with APALSA.
| |
Fordham's Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA) is launching a new project: The Fordham Law Living Holocaust Memorial Project. In recognition of International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27) and in anticipation of “Yom HaShoah," Israel's Holocaust Memorial Day in April, this living memorial will honor the victims of the Holocaust and ensure their stories live on.
JLSA will be collecting stories of all those whose lives were affected by the atrocities of the Holocaust and the War through this Google Form. All members of the Fordham Law community are encouraged to submit text, videos, images, and/or audio clips about their connections to the Holocaust. If you have someone in your life—Jewish or not—that is willing to share their story, JLSA would be deeply grateful if you would consider documenting it in some way and submitting it for JLSA’s archive and safekeeping. Please feel free to reach out to Michaela Gawley with any questions.
| |
| The Latest #futurefordhamlawyers
| |
Check out our latest #futurefordhamlawyers
| |
For Our Profession, Society, and World.
| |
|
|
|
|
