How Top Law Schools Can Resuscitate an Inclusive Climate for Minority and Low-Income Law Students
Taifha N. Baker, How Top Law Schools Can Resuscitate an Inclusive Climate for Minority and Low-Income Law Students, 9 GEO. J. L. & MOD. CRITICAL RACE PERSP. 123 (2017)
30 Pages Posted: 19 Feb 2022
Date Written: December 20, 2017
Abstract
As a Black law student from a welfare-reliant household, I would not wish my law school experience on my worst enemy. As a result, this article is driven out of care, genuine concern and optimism that my law school, and similarly-situated top law schools, will better understand the unique institutional, instructional and social barriers frustrating success for law students from historically subordinated groups in law school and the legal field at large.
First, institutional barriers exist partly because law school Deans do not meaningfully address legal injustices that disproportionately affect communities of color and the working poor. Specifically, few top law schools Deans have meaningfully acknowledged or responded to the racially-motivated, legally-upheld, systematic killings of people of color. Second, instructional barriers exist, in part, because faculty at top law schools neglect important discussions relating to their specialization and the intersection of race, gender and class. Third, students from historically subordinated groups are expected to perform extreme mental feats by upholding and revering the law which is effectively used to strip their communities of their life, liberty and humanity.
This article provides top law schools with specific, tangible tools necessary to competently incorporate inclusive practices into their law school's culture and create an effective and supportive learning community for all students.
Keywords: Law School, Diversity, Access, Equity, Classroom, Antiracism, Teaching, T14, Faculty, Student
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