Build, Lead, Serve and Advocate.
Harvard Law School’s Black Law Students Association (BLSA) commits to supporting the efforts of the 2018 National Prison Strike, which started on August 21, 2018 and concluded on September 9, 2018. Our brothers, sisters, and community members in federal, immigration, and state prisons demand the following:
…
The Harvard Black Law Students Association (BLSA) has not taken any position with respect to the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Kavanaugh.
Harvard BLSA was recently mentioned during Judge Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing. During questioning, Judge Brett Kavanaugh openly discussed how he supported BLSA, referencing an event during which he “encouraged” and “mentored” BLSA members to apply for clerkships–there is a signed letter by both current and former BLSA members as a testament to this exchange.
…
Click the following link to read a PDF version of NBLSA’s Statement on Jeff Sessions: NBLSA_JeffSessionsStatement
When Bishop C. Holifield was a student at Harvard Law School in 1967 at the apex of the civil rights movement, the fledgling organization he had founded—the Harvard Black Law Students Association—had just two members: himself and co-founder Reginald E. Gilliam.
November 19, 2015
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS – The Harvard Black Law Students Association (HBLSA) condemns today’s defacing of Black faculty portraits at Harvard Law School.
Today’s act is part of a larger pattern of racial antagonism at the Law School and schools across the nation. This event demonstrates that even at our nation’s most prestigious institutions, students, faculty, and staff of color are not immune to racial injustices. These injustices take the form of microaggressions, racially hostile learning environments, a delegitimization of Black voices and opinions, and a legacy of racism embodied in the crests of many institutions of higher learning in this country.
Today’s act of vandalism, motivated by racial animus, is not an isolated incident at Harvard Law School. “HBLSA is committed to fighting against racism, bigotry, and ignorance at our institution. However, it should not be our fight alone. We call on faculty and administrators to seriously consider the concerns and frustrations that students have repeatedly brought to their attention,” said Leland Shelton, President of the Harvard Black Law Students Association.
After students pressured both the Dean of Students and the Dean of the Law School, the administration opened a previously scheduled faculty meeting to students and staff to provide a forum for community-wide discussion. During the meeting, Martha Minow, the Dean of the Law School, acknowledged that racism is an ongoing problem in America and at Harvard. HBLSA considers the meeting to be a starting point, not a resolution, and will remain actively engaged with the administration, faculty, staff, student organizations, and alumni to implement concrete institutional change.
Shelton adds, “recent events at the University of Missouri, Yale, and campuses across the country remind us that racism persists and encourages us to continue to fight with a sense of urgency for meaningful change in our institutions and in our country.”
Media contact:
Leland Shelton, President, Harvard Black Law Students Association
Registration page coming soon!
NON-TRADITIONAL SPEAKER SERIES feat JAMES O’NEAL, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF LEGAL OUTREACH
Professional Development
Tuesday, March 22, 12pm, Room TBA
RSVP to Professional Development
Come join HBLSA Alum, James O’Neal, for lunch as he shares his career path and experiences post-HLS. James is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Legal Outreach, a non-profit organization that uses intensive legal and educational programs to prepare urban youth from underserved communities in NYC to compete at high academic levels. This is a wonderful opportunity to ask any burning questions about pursuing a career in the public interest and to build a relationship with one of our amazing HBLSA Alumni! You must RSVP in order to attend. Please email HBLSAProfessionalDevelopment@gmail.com to secure your spot. The seats will be available on a first come, first serve basis.
Social
March-April
HBLSA members’ homes
Get to know some of your fellow HBLSA members in a cozy, informal setting. Social Committee is paying for several HBLSA members to host dinner parties in their homes throughout late March and April!
Please email HBLSASocialCommittee@gmail.com if you are interesting in hosting around 10 people in your home. You can cook as a group or order in–watch movies, talk, or just enjoy each other’s company!
Please email HBLSASocialCommittee@gmail.com as well if you are interested in attending a dinner party. Once we have a list of hosts and attendees, we’ll send out more details on dates, times, and locations.
Social
April 7, 2011, Time TBA
Pound Hall, Ropes Gray
CALLING ALL TALENT!!!
Are you a dancer, singer, lyricist, musician, actor, or performer of any kind? If so, we would love for you to show off your talents at HBLSA’s annual talent show! Please email HBLSASocialCommittee@gmail.com for details and to let us know if you’re interested in performing. The show will be co-sponsored by several other HLS organizations.
December 09, 2010
Harvard Law School became the first-ever repeat-winner of the National Puerto Rico Trial Advocacy Competition.
Returning as defending champions, the Harvard Law School Trial Team advanced to the semi-finals with the highest score and remained undefeated throughout the competition, edging out Georgetown Law in the final round to win first place. The prestigious “invitation- only” competition was sponsored by the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law and the Puerto Rico Bar Association October 28-30.
The Harvard team was sponsored and coached through the auspices of the Law School’s Criminal Justice Institute. The team included 3L’s Mostafa Abdelkarim and Nneka Ukpai and 2L’s Anthony Hendricks and Ieshaah Murphy.
In addition to the team victory, Murphy and Ukpai together secured a total of 8 Perfect Score Awards and were recognized as Best Advocates in the competition.
In this year’s mock case, a recently paroled convict was charged with murder and armed robbery. The prosecution’s witnesses were two decorated police officers who testified that the defendant confessed multiple times to the murder. The defense witnesses were the defendant’s parents as alibi witnesses. The defense team also had the option to call the defendant. Hendricks and Abdelkarim represented the prosecution while Murphy and Ukpai represented the defendant.
“We are extremely grateful for the support of Dean Minow and the Criminal Justice Institute,” said Ukpai. “We competed against some very skilled adversaries but with the training, patience, and commitment of our coaches, Soffiyah Elijah and Dehlia Umunna, we triumphed to become the first school to ever win this competition twice.”
CJI Deputy Director Soffiyah Elijah and CJI Clinical Instructor Dehlia Umunna have coached other teams at the Law School to several other first place finishes in competitions in Massachusetts and New York.
The Criminal Justice Institute is the curriculum-based criminal law clinical program of Harvard Law School. Its mission is to educate students in becoming effective, ethical and zealous criminal defense lawyer-advocates through practice in representing indigent individuals involved in the Massachusetts court system as well as to research and present issues and debates about the criminal and juvenile justice systems in order to effect local and national reform.
[Originally reported: http://www.law.harvard.edu/news/2010/12/09_trial-advocacy-competition.html]