Dear Fordham Law Community,
As this academic year comes to a close, we thank you for supporting our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs and initiatives. We look forward to reporting on our anti-racism plan over the summer through our ongoing progress reports. The DEI Newsletter will officially resume this fall to report on updates from our students, faculty, and staff.
Warmly,
Kimathi Gordon-Somers
Kamille Dean
Jennifer Haastrup
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Juneteenth & Dies Community, Texas: A Freedmen Community’s 150-Year Evolution and the Law
Join us on June 16 for a Juneteenth celebration that will feature F. Sunnie Frazier of Lamar University, who will share her family’s experience as leaders in their community addressing voter rights, land acquisition, property rights, education law, and Jim Crow segregation. Learn more and register.
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Addressing Systemic Racism
The brutal killing of George Floyd one ago year was a shocking wake-up call. It turned our collective attention to the nation’s ugly and shameful record of racism. A year later, hear from our community members on systemic racism, what has been done, and the path ahead. Read more.
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The Feerick Center for Social Justice Hosts The People's Institute Training
The Feerick Center for Social Justice hosted The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB) for training for Center staff and Fordham Law employees. The People's Institute focuses on undoing racism through community organizing and collective work. Dora Galacatos, executive director of the Feerick Center, said "we are deeply grateful to Dean Diller and Dean Gordon-Somers for their support of bringing PISAB to Fordham." She added that this first PISAB training is intended to facilitate ongoing anti-racism efforts and future workshops. Learn more about PISAB.
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Realizing Excellence and Access in the Law
Fordham Law School’s Realizing Excellence and Access in the Law (REAL) program is committed to transforming the legal profession by expanding opportunities for first-year law students from historically underrepresented backgrounds including but not limited to underrepresented racial, ethnic, geographic, socioeconomic, and first-generation college backgrounds. Learn more about the program.
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Celebrating PrideOUTLaws, Fordham Law’s LGBTQ+ and allied students association, celebrates Pride month by sharing what Pride really means to them.
In March, Fordham Law hosted Dru Levasseur, the Deputy Program Officer for the National LGBT Bar. The legal profession continues to maintain significant gaps in LGBTQ+ inclusion, and law schools today are grappling with issues relating to transgender and nonbinary inclusion. This session provided attendees with the tools necessary to understand the importance of creating meaningful change in workplaces and schools. Program materials are available for download.
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Student Spotlight: Darius Johnson ’21
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Darius Johnson served as the Black Law Students Association president during his second year of law school. Darius holds a passion for movement law, which he explains as "based on what the community needs and what the community is demanding. It’s another way of just simply empowering people." Read more.
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Faculty Spotlight: Professor Catherine Powell
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In an op-ed published by Think Global Health, Professor Catherine Powell examines President Joe Biden’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and critiques the gender dichotomy between two of his legislative proposals—the American Jobs Plan and the American Family Plan. Read more.
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Staff Anti-Racism Book Club
The Staff Anti-Racism Book Club was initiated in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter civil uprising following the murder of George Floyd. Previously, there wasn’t an opportunity for Law School staff to gather, learn, and discuss difficult topics of racism and social injustices. As a group, they have read and discussed The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine, and most recently, The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. For more information please contact book club moderator, Trae Higgs.
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Update on the Racial Climate Survey
In May, the Law School sent out a version of the racial climate survey to all of its alumni. Almost a thousand people responded! These answers will be analyzed together with the results of the April survey taken by students, staff, and faculty.
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