Harvard Black Law Students Association

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HBLSA President’s Summer Reflection

As President of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, this summer was difficult in many ways as a Black woman in leadership. The Supreme Court rulings attacked my womanhood while I was simultaneously reminded that Black life is political. However, I recognize our organization’s position as Black students educated at Harvard Law, and I want to say that our silence this summer should not be read as acquiescence or complacency.

The Harvard Black Law Students Association is appalled by the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Casey v. Planned Parenthood, and Miranda v. Arizona, amongst other precedent. The Supreme Court’s decisions demonstrate that personal autonomy, health, safety, and civil rights are neither stable nor guaranteed under the Constitution. The blatant disregard for the lives of many in the United States, especially Black people, is disheartening. Though the United States has always relied on the voices of a few to determine the freedoms of many, the Supreme Court rulings call into question the legitimacy of the law, our future profession, and Harvard Law School.

Four out of the nine Supreme Court justices attended Harvard Law School. These lifetime appointments remind us of the weight that Harvard’s name carries and the burden we bear to build the lawyers of the next generation. Harvard must be more deliberate in its pedagogy and refine how students discuss topics in the classroom. The Harvard name should enable graduates the opportunity to create a better world; however, it is evident this is not happening.

I wanted to become a lawyer because I understood lawyers’ power to create positive societal change. The ability to read the law and knowledgeably argue for or against a topic is a gift that law students perfect, and lawyers execute throughout their careers. Yet, to see the legal education we are proud of used in ways that divide society, reinforce stereotypes, create barriers of entry, and promote prisons as rehabilitation centers is disgusting.

This year I endeavor to hold Harvard Law School and Harvard University accountable. We will continue to plan meetings with the administration about Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Report, the unfair summer contribution policy, and the development of rules about hate speech from professors and our peers, to name a few. We will not let the legacy of this institution continue to be our future. We will expose the facade that Harvard Law School and Harvard University uphold until they make the institution equitable for all students.

At the same time, the Harvard Black Law Students Association will create intentional moments and space for Black joy. Black students deserve to be students who do not live life in a perpetual state of politics. We belong at Harvard Law School, and our existence does not always have to be at odds with the university. As we embark on the 2022-2023 Academic Year, I am excited and hopeful that we will take steps toward making Harvard and the world a more just place.

 

Dara J. Ferguson 

HBLSA President 2022 – 2023 

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HBLSA Statement: Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery Report

It is not a surprise that Harvard University enslaved and owned human beings. It is not a surprise that Harvard Law School was established and developed with money generated by slave labor. However, it is surprising that Harvard has taken this long to remember. 

Last Tuesday, on April 26, 2022, Harvard University issued a report detailing its complicity in enslaving Africans and African Americans, calling the report “Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery.” Twenty-four hours before the release of the report, Harvard University scheduled a meeting with the leaders of Black student organizations across campus to discuss a report that we had not seen. The planning and research process failed to include the Harvard Black Law Students Association or its members, some of whom are direct descendants of enslaved people, in the conversation on how Harvard University continues to perpetuate harm to the Black community. Instead, our opinions came second to the press, demonstrating the performative nature of this institution and its response. This is the continued legacy of Harvard University, an institution that seeks to change the opinions of press rooms rather than shifting the dialogue in classrooms. 

Historically, Harvard University has been willfully silent about its past. An institution that boasts of being the “oldest institution of higher learning in the United States,” founded in 1636, has taken almost 390 years to uncover and address its entanglement with slavery. The report notes that Harvard presidents enslaved people, and professors “conducted abusive research … of enslaved and subjugated human beings.” Harvard’s museum collections continue to house human remains of indigenous and enslaved people. Harvard University was not only cognizant of these records but kept custody of them. Only now has Harvard revealed the records to the general public. Harvard’s purposeful neglect is motivated by self-preservation.

This same self-preservation led Harvard Law School to recently change its crest, which previously depicted three bushels of wheat as an ode to the institution’s connection to chattel slavery. This came only after countless years of student activism. This institution has continued to demonstrate its comfortability and complacency with its endorsement of slavery and anti-Blackness. Harvard has finally taken nominal steps by recognizing its grievous history. However, what steps will Harvard take moving forward?

It is imperative that Harvard Law School recognize its role in producing agents of the law and dedicate itself to providing an environment in which  Black students can succeed. Harvard cannot claim to be an institution devoted to equal justice and opportunity without working to ensure it produces alumni who further the mission of equity in the legal profession and the law. The elation and inspiration that came from the appointment of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, an alumnus of the Harvard Black Law Students Association, have all too quickly been shadowed by recent sorrow and fear of regression. 

In light of recent news regarding Roe v. Wade, it is clear that the undertaking of justice and equality for Black people, especially Black women, is far from over. Harvard must take an active role in producing lawyers of the future, who advocate for justice over tradition, by changing the pedagogy of its classrooms. An institution that tries to reconcile its past, while simultaneously producing lawyers that perpetuate harm to the very communities with which it seeks atonement, is an unjust institution. 

The Harvard Black Law Students Association is dedicated to ensuring that the release of the “Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery” report is not the apogee of recognition, but the mark of a new beginning. As we have for decades, we call upon the leaders of Harvard Law School, and Harvard as an institution, to embrace this day of reckoning. It is not enough to repent for the actions of Harvard’s past: Harvard must reconcile and rebuild for the future.

Harvard University and Harvard Law School, we are ready to engage in these conversations, and not serve as a mere afterthought. We are ready for real solutions that address the legacy of slavery –not performative actions. We are ready for buildings and hallways – not fields or rocks – to be commemorated in our names. We are ready for adequate funding to rectify the continued legacy that this institution perpetuates. 

It is high time that Harvard University and Harvard Law School take the voices and advocacy of Black student organizations, not as mere inspiration, but as genuine recommendations and guidance to make certain there is equity on this campus. We ask that beyond claiming to hear us, Harvard takes the genuine step to listen to us. We acknowledge the work of the Committee on Harvard and the Legacy of Slavery. We are eager to work with Harvard Law School to honor and respect the enslaved ancestors whose forced labor and unwavering strength built this institution. 

Harvard BLSA Executive Board
Dara Ferguson, President
Ariel Talbert, Internal Vice President
Daniel Walker, External Vice President
Stephen Neilson, Treasurer
Caroline Akhame, Secretary
Brenna Phillips, Chief of Staff

View this statement as a PDF.

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Harvard Black Law Students Association’s Statement on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson

The Harvard Black Law Students Association is extraordinarily proud of our treasured alumna, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson (’96), whom President Biden has nominated to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

Judge Jackson is a brilliant lawyer, accomplished jurist, and has demonstrated an unyielding commitment to service and the pursuit and protection of justice. Judge Jackson currently serves as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and now stands as the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court.

Today, President Biden stated that “[it is] time that we have a court [that] reflects the full talents and greatness of our nation with a nominee of extraordinary qualifications.”  Judge Jackson is the exemplary candidate to fulfill this role. With her background in criminal defense, trial work, and other exceptional qualifications, Judge Jackson will bring a powerful voice and a necessary perspective on today’s most pressing legal issues.

Judge Jackson’s nomination is monumental. It acknowledges the value of Black women’s perspectives and their critical role in shaping our nation and judicial system. The nomination of a Black woman to our country’s highest court was overdue. We are elated that the wait is now over.

We know that there is work to be done to ensure Judge Jackson becomes Justice Jackson. Our sincere hope is that the Senate Judiciary Committee will move Judge Jackson fairly and quickly through her confirmation process. For now, we celebrate this historic, groundbreaking honor and recognition of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s legacy.

To Judge Jackson, thank you for continuing to inspire us to advocate for justice, dream bigger, and dictate our own destinies.

Harvard BLSA Executive Board
Mariah K. Watson, President
Dara J. Ferguson, Internal Vice President
Virginia Thomas, External Vice President
Samantha Camy, Treasurer
Jordan Rogers, Secretary

View this statement as a PDF.

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Harvard’s Black Law Student Association’s Letter to the Administration Regarding Dr. Cornel West

Dear President Bacow, Provost Garber, Deans Gay, and Bobo,

Harvard Law School’s Black Law Students Association (HBLSA) and the undersigned signatories are writing to condemn the University’s decision to refuse to consider Dr. Cornel West for tenure. 

There is no doubt that Dr. West is more than qualified to receive tenure. Dr. West is a preeminent scholar–described by his peers as “sui generis”–that has consistently tackled the complex issues of race in America. He is a Professor Emeritus at Princeton University and has taught at Union Theological Seminary, Yale, Harvard, and the University of Paris. Prior to leaving Harvard in 2002, Dr. West was a University Professor, Harvard’s highest faculty honor, and the demand for his course was only exceeded by one other course. Dr. West, who is routinely cited, has written 20 books–including the seminal Race Matters– edited 13 and has published a substantial amount of academic articles. The decision not to consider Dr. West for tenure is inexplicable and inconsistent with the University’s expectation as expressed by Dean Bobo that “the expectation is that [Dr. West] will be with [Harvard] for a very long time.” The University’s actions are not only incompatible but do a disservice to all current and future students of the University.

We are deeply concerned by the University’s characterization of Dr. West as “too risky” and “too controversial.” These statements contravene the principle of academic freedom that undergirds the University. As the President said in the first address of the spring semester to the  Faculty of Arts and Sciences  “We pursue [Harvard’s] mission on the foundation of a set of values, chief among them free speech and academic freedom.” This characterization of Dr. West is not only inaccurate but also falls short of the values and standards established and reiterated time and time again by the University. We call upon the University to hold itself accountable and to follow its own model of academic freedom.

Harvard’s refusal to consider Dr. West for tenure continues a consistent pattern of practice that undermines and devalues the scholarship of Black professors and professors of color. Our call today for the University to revisit its decision is part of a longstanding tradition of HBLSA,  Black academics, and academics of color calling upon the University to recognize and value diverse scholarship. In 1992 Derrick Bell, the preeminent scholar on critical race theory and the first Black man to receive tenure at Harvard Law School (“HLS”),  left HLS in protest of its refusal to hire a Black woman and the lack of diversity within the faculty. For seven years, the university denied the Latino Law Review the right to use the Harvard name. In 2019, the University refused to grant tenure to Professor Lorgia García Peña, a decision that undermined cross-organizational efforts on campus for an Ethnic Studies program. In addition, more than 100 faculty members called for a comprehensive review of the tenure process to ensure better alignment with the University’s espoused commitments to diversity and inclusion. The refusal to consider Dr. West for tenure raises concerns about the future treatment of Black academics and academics of color in a tenure process that already lacks transparency. The University espouses a commitment to academic freedom and diversity and inclusion, but its actions continue to undermine diverse scholarship.

Dr. Cornel West’s research, publication record, and teaching are exemplary. We are not only disappointed in the refusal to even consider Dr. West for tenure but also are concerned that this denial indicates a lack of commitment to pursuing diversity, inclusivity, and social justice by the University.

The Harvard Black Law Students Association

La Alianza at Harvard Law School

Harvard Law School Lambda

Harvard Law School MELSA

Harvard Muslim Law Students Association

Harvard Law School Chapter of the American Constitution Society

Harvard African Law Association

Harvard Descendants

Harvard Law School Disability Law Students Association

Harvard Asian Pacific American Law Students Association

Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review

Harvard Journal of Sports and Entertainment Law

Harvard Journal of Law and Gender

Harvard Law School Labor and Employment Action Project

Tenant Advocacy Project

First Class at Harvard Law School

Harvard Women’s Law Association

Harvard Legal Aid Bureau

Harvard Human Rights Journal

Harvard South Asian Law Students Association

+127 Students

 

A full copy of the letter can be found here.

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Harvard’s Black Law Student Association’s Letter to the Administration Regarding Black Lives

Dear President Bacow, Dean Manning, Dean Sells, Dean Claypool, Dean Jefferson, and Members of the Harvard Law School Administration:

The messages sent earlier this week by President Bacow, Dean Manning, and Dean Sells failed to explicitly denounce anti-Black racisms, police brutality, and the pernicious effects of state-sanctioned violence.  Harvard’s Black Law Student Association (HBLSA) calls upon the Administration to unequivocally denounce state-sanctioned violence and racially motivated animus towards Black people. It is Harvard’s obligation to not only unequivocally condemn state-sanctioned violence and police brutality but also use its position of power and privilege to generate true systemic change.

Harvard Law School holds itself as not only the preeminent legal institution in the country but the world, it must affirm Black Lives Matter through overt action. As James Baldwin once wrote, “civilization is not destroyed by wicked people; it is not necessary that people be wicked but only that they be spineless.” The world needs Harvard’s bold and proactive leadership now more than ever. Harvard Law School cannot wait for the next crisis. For years, Harvard Law School’s students have been demanding structural change to truly make Harvard Law School uphold its mission, “[t]o educate leaders who contribute to the advancement of justice and the well-being of society.” We reassert the demands of our predecessors.

ESTABLISH AN OFFICE OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Harvard Law School lags behind its peers. Our peer schools on Harvard’s campus, including the Kennedy School, School of Public Health, and Medical School, have offices of diversity or multicultural affairs that act as both liaisons and advocates for their students in addressing issues of diversity. Harvard Law School must demonstrate its commitment to racial justice and equality by establishing an independent Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

DEFUND HUPD

Harvard must ensure a safe campus for all students. As such, Harvard must disclose and sever relationships with any and all law enforcement agencies. The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and David McAtee, alongside the history of innumerable instances of police violence towards Black bodies, have made it clear that police reform is not enough. As an organization, we are concerned about the presence of the Harvard University Police Department at recent demonstrations protesting police brutality, and the message it sends to current students about how the school values their lives. At these protests, many police departments have responded with more police brutality, through use of weapons banned in war, rubber bullets, and tear gas. Police departments have become increasingly militarized, and Black communities suffer most. Service providers, such as mental health professionals and trauma-informed crisis intervention specialists, are better trained and more equipped to assist community members in times of need. Defunding police and re-directing those funds to investments in the Black community is essential.

MATCH DONATIONS

The collective resources of individual members of our community merit at least a proportional response from our institution. Match student, postdoc, staff, and faculty donations by giving an equivalent or larger dollar amount to the Massachusetts Bail Fund, Violence in Boston, Black Lives Matter Boston, and the National Black Justice Coalition to support protesters and activists at the local and national level.

REFRAIN FROM PENALIZING STUDENT PROTESTORS

Harvard Law School must pledge not to punish, penalize, or burden students arrested or charged while participating in the current protests. Students standing against one of the most pervasive evils of our time is both a benefit to our community and to HLS as an institution.

MANDATORY ANNUAL IMPLICIT BIAS TRAINING FOR ALL HUHS PROVIDERS

The healthcare system’s inequities cannot be divorced from the impacts of structural racism (e.g. COVID-19). We call upon Harvard to hire more Black healthcare providers and providers of color, including mental health providers, and mandate all Harvard University Health and Services (HUHS) providers receive implicit bias training annually. If HUHS providers are already undergoing training, it must be revamped to ensure Black students and students of color receive quality care.

IMPLEMENT A CRITICAL RACE THEORY CURRICULUM

Harvard Law School holds a unique position as a premier legal institution that trains the next generation of the country’s most powerful decision-makers, including Presidents, District Attorneys, and judges. To truly prepare our students for success in a world turning towards justice, Harvard Law School has a responsibility to educate its students about how systems of power and privilege inform the experiences of Black people and marginalized communities. We call upon Harvard Law School to hire a tenured Critical Race Theorist,  allocate its resources to establish an endowed Critical  Race Theory Program, and commit to institutional support.

HIRE AND RETAIN MORE BLACK FACULTY AND FACULTY OF COLOR

In 1992, Derrick Bell gave up his professorship and left Harvard in protest due to the dearth of Black professors. He understood, as we do, that Black faculty are essential for a dynamic and thriving educational environment. As has been established by numerous studies (Study 1; Study 2), Black faculty are fundamental to all student learning. Placing professors with diverse backgrounds in front of students at Harvard Laws School encourages the discussion of different views that shape the reasoning behind legal decisions and emphasizes the importance of different perspectives in developing the law. In this effort, Harvard Law School should mandate that all faculty searches have diverse candidates (racial and gender diversity). There are many Black professors and professors of color in the legal community. Find, hire, and retain more.

PRISON DIVESTMENT

HBLSA agrees with President Bacow that, “those of us privileged to work or study at a place like [Harvard] bear special responsibilities.” As legal scholars, we know the devastating impacts of state-sanctioned violence and prison-industrial complex on Black communities and communities of color. Harvard should heed the demands of the Harvard Prison Divestment Campaign (HPDC) and divest immediately.

We present this list of demands as a way for Harvard Law School to demonstrate that it is genuinely committed to creating a society that values and invests in Black Life.  History has proven that when Harvard acts, other educational institutions follow. Act now.

Sincerely,
Harvard Black Law Students Association

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BLACK LIVES MATTER

Harvard Law School’s Black Law Students Association (HBLSA) extends its deepest condolences to the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, Nina Pop, Tony McDade, and George Floyd. We acknowledge the unfathomable pain of watching a loved one’s final moments. We know they are more than hashtags and headlines. We know they are deeply loved. We hold you in your healing from the death of your loved ones. They were taken too soon from you. We support you in taking your time and taking care. We hold space for your pain and your rage. We echo your calls for accountability and justice.

HBLSA is in solidarity with the millions of Black people frustrated and enraged by a system that continues to disregard and devalue Black Lives. The United States has long borne witness to racially motivated violence towards Black people. These incidents cannot be divorced from the history of the perpetual subjugation of Black people upon which our nation stands. A tradition that is complicit in the deaths of George Junius Stinney Jr., Emmett Till, Fred Hampton, 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Victims, Rodney King, and Kalief Browder. This pervasive and omnipresent system of state-sanctioned violence built upon the notion of Black criminality perpetuates the denial of Black humanity and our right to freedom. From “Stand Your Ground” laws, the ‘94 Crime Bill, the McCleskey decision, “qualified immunity” defenses, to the consistent criminalizing of Blackness to bring about an onslaught of physical, emotional, and mental violence—the United States denies Black people the right to bird-watch, jog, sleep, read, and worship in peace.

The United States is witnessing uprisings all over the country. We recognize these as acts of rebellion against anti-Black violence that saturates us. Additionally, we are reminded of this moment’s place in our nation’s history; these uprisings are moments of unrest and resistance in the midst of 500 years of killing, torturing, and looting––of Black people and indigenous peoples more broadly. In the words of Dr. King, “A riot is the language of the unheard.” In the spirit of the work of those like Dr. King, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur, and Malcolm X, we are concerned about the ongoing looting of Black communities by bailed-out billion-dollar corporations who impoverish Black and brown people and continue to evict them from their homes in a pandemic. We have had enough.

As the COVID-19 brought the world to a halt,  these deaths serve as a painful reminder of the United States’ failure to address its history of institutionalized racism and pervasive anti-Blackness. This is a lethal reminder to reject complacency. This demands our attention and presents us with a fundamental crisis of consciousness. We must challenge our institutions, our progress, and our role in the fight for life and equity. We are required to learn from the past in order to move forward more united and inclusive. We demand the protection of Black queer, trans, femme, and system impacted lives. Hear the voice of the unheard. Hear their pain, their anger, their sadness, and their disgust. We must expand our understanding of justice and accountability to include an investment in Black life. 

Now is the time to continue moving from education to action. The resources listed below are not exhaustive, but a springboard for you to take steps to participate in this movement for justice.

RESOURCES

Please support the funds and organizations below dedicated to racial justice, liberation, and ending violence against Black people.

Education

Book List: 

  • The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
  • How To Be Anti-Racist and Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America  by Ibram X. Kendi
  • So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
  • White Fragility: Why it’s so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo

Teaching about race, racism and police violence: Resources for educators and parents by Washington Post

Personal Funds

Organizations/Funds

  • Reclaim the Block, a Minneapolis organization devoted to reallocating the city’s money away from the police department and toward “community-led safety initiatives.”
  • Black Visions Collective, a Black, trans, and queer-led social justice organization and legal fund based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  • Bail Funds and Legal Aid By City, a community-sourced list of bail funds and legal aid organized by city.
  • Campaign Zero, online platform & organization that utilizes research-based policy solutions to end police brutality in the United States.
  • Northstar Health Collective, a St. Paul-based organization that provides health services and support at protests.
  • The Minnesota Freedom Fund, which pays criminal and immigration bail and bond for people who cannot afford it. This fund is currently “overfunded,” so please consider giving to others. 

Voting 

While voting doesn’t solve every problem, voting in local elections, especially for District Attorneys and Sheriffs, has a direct impact on how and who is held accountable. 

How to Register to Vote

HBLSA has been and will continue to take steps to do our part, individually and as a collective. Stay connected for updates.

The Harvard Black Law Students Association