2008 Year in Review

3rd Annual Symposium and Reunion in March 2009

December 2008 - "Race in Colorblind Spaces: A Legal and Scientific Examination," will be the theme of the 3rd annual CRS Symposium, scheduled or March 6-7, 2008.  The symposium will convene leading social scientists and lawyers whose research probes questions related to how race operates in institutional and social environments that have been deemed "colorblind" by legal regimes or social discourse. 

CRS Faculty Director, Jerry Kang, and Professor Cheryl Harris are serving as the faculty lead organizers for the event, which aims to generate a future volume on the symposium theme, to be published by CRS at UCLA.  Attended by more than 300 people each year, the symposium is also the site of the annual CRS program reunion, which allows graduates of the law school to earn CLE credit, participate in the intellectual life of the program, and reconnect with each other. 

If you have questions about the panels, please contact Professors Kang or Harris.  For information about the organization of the symposium, please contact Saul Sarabia, CRS Program Director at sarabia@law.ucla.law.ucla.edu

Prof. Crenshaw awarded 2 Prestigious Fellowships

December 2008 - CRS Professor Kimberlè Crenshaw was selected as a 2008 Alphonse Fletcher, Sr. Fellow. She is one of four academics in the country, chosen from a pool of more than 80 applicants, to receive the honor this year.  The prestigious fellowship program was created in 2004 by Alphonse Fletcher, Jr., chairman and CEO of Fletcher Asset Management, on the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education.  Professor Crenshaw will complete a writing project entitled "Shattering the Colorblind Ruse: Recapturing the Legacy of Brown," which will analyze how today's notion of "colorblindness" undermines the ability to address ongoing patterns of racial inequality. 

Prof. Crenshaw has also been awarded a fellowship at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University. The CASBS fellowship, one of the oldest and most prestigious in the academy, is awarded to approximately 45 top scholars each year.  At Stanford, Prof. Crenshaw will be working with colleagues from various disciplines to build "common sense" understandings of the way that race still matters in the United States.  Since its founding in 1954, CASBS has provided fellowships to more than 3,000 distinguished scholars in the social and behavioral sciences. Following their residences at the center, 17 fellows have gone on to receive a Nobel Prize, eight received Pulitzer Prizes, 23 were selected as MacArthur Fellows, three received the John Bates Clark Medal, 11 received the Bancroft Prize, 10 received National Book Awards and 18 received the National Medal of Science.  

CRS congratulates Prof Crenshaw, who is on sabbatical this year, but will participate in this year's CRS symposium, which will focus on themes related to these fellowships. Read more.

CRS Profs Publish Cutting Edge Scholarship

December 2008 - Professor Devon Carbado and co-editor, Boalt Law Professor Rachel Moran, boldly assert that a race law canon is an essential part of the American legal system.  This book assembles a comparative set of essays, including contributions from CRS Professors Jerry Kang (on Hirabayashi v. US) and Carole Goldberg, that describe how the legal system helps to produce race.  Their "racially integrative approach is a model for race law scholarship," according to Professor Don Nakanishi of UCLA's Asian American Studies Department.   Race Law Stories, will surely be an important turning point in critical race legal scholarship.  You may order a copy of the book now. 

Professor Russell Robinson probes the application of psychological research to the experience and perceptions of employment discrimination.  His article "Perceptual Segregation," which was published in the Columbia Law Review in 2008, interrogates how antidiscrimination law might account for the fact that disfavored groups and dominant group members evaluate the same acts differently, including those that may rise to violations of workplace laws.  Professor Robinson also continued his path-breaking scholarship in the area of race and sexuality.  The Fordham Law Review published his essay "Structural Dimensions of Romantic Preferences," which explores the role of race in intimate relationships and his article, "Racing the Closet," exploring the racialization of same-sex couplings, such as the "down-low," is forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review.

Professors Devon Carbado and Cheryl Harris have published a timely article that explores the legal and social ambiguity created by legal regimes that govern "colorblind" admissions in higher education and hypothesize that in that context, applicants who suppress their racial identity or see that identity as irrelevant are privileged compared to those who have "race positive" identities.  The New Racial Preferences was published in the California Law Review.  

Friends and Alumni of CRS Establish Bay Area Chapter; Gear-up for '09 Events

December 2008 - Shirin Soleman ('07) and Esther Ro ('07), chairpersons of Friends and Alumni of CRS, expanded the activities of the association in 2008, including developing the first alumni events, committees and initiatives.  Among the highlights from 2008, the CRS alumni reunion convened at the 2nd annual symposium, the committee raised close to 1/5th of the costs for the symposium/reunion from 10 recent graduates and their law firm donations, and established a San Francisco Bay Area chapter.  In additon, an online group was developed to disseminate information amongst alumni of the school interested in the mission of CRS. 

In 2009, the committee will continue to focus on a successful Symposium, establishing CLE programs and faculty-alumni events, and planning committees to mark the 10th anniversary of CRS.  If you are interested in participating in Friends and Alumni of CRS activities, please contact Shirin or Esther.  The CRS Program is deeply appreciative of all of the efforts of CRS alumni and the committees of Friends of CRS and looks forward to a meaningful and productive 2009!

3 CRS Students Publish Law Review Comments

August 2008:  Alina Ball ('08) and Maureen Carroll ('09) have published comments in this month's edition of the UCLA Law Review, which is ranked among the top ten law reviews in the United States.  Alina's comment is entitled "An Imperative Redefinition of Community:  Incorporating Re-entry Lawyers to Increase the Efficacy of Community Economic Development Initiatives."  The title of Maureen's comment is "Educating Expelled Students After No Child Left Behind:  Mending an Incentive Structure that Discourages Alternative Education and Reinstatement."  Both comments provide a race-conscious assessment of current approaches to existing social problems and legal strategies to address them. 

All students participating in the CRS Specialization are encouraged to write analytically rigorous scholarly papers and to publish them.  The CRS Writing Requirement consists of a 35-page paper for certification in Critical Race Studies.  In 2008, the CRS faculty added  a CRS Writing Workshop to the CRS curriculum in order to nurture student scholarly production.  It is being taught by Professor Russell Robinson in Fall 2008.  In the Spring Semester 2009, the CRS Program will select one paper written to satisfy the CRS Writing Requirement as the 2009 Outstanding CRS Writing Requirement Paper.  To be eligible, students should simply follow the procedures regarding the writing requirement as described on our CRS Online Course Web Page.

December 2008 - Another CRS student has published a scholarly paper in the prestigious UCLA Law Review.  Dale Larson ('09) was deeply influenced by CRS-affiliated professors and ideas in drafting "Unconsciously Regarded as Disabled: Implicit Bias and the Regarded-As Prong of the Americans With Disabilities Act," which applies implicit bias - a concept that critical race theorists have been key to draw from psychology into law - to the Americans with Disabilites Act.  "I have absolutely benefitted from CRS faculty in my academic production.  I was inspired by Professor Harris in Con Law, and signed up for her classes the next two semesters.  It was Professor Harris who first introduced me to research on implicit bias, and Professor Blasi who urged me to take my comment in that direction... I have found the principles and academic themes of Critical Race Theory to be applicable to disability law, providing me with a more critical eye for analyzing the current state of the law.  Critical Race Theory has been one of my favorite and most formative classes in law school," said Dale. 

CRS Convenes Emergency Forum on Race and Prop 8

November 2008 -Soon after voter-approval of a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-sex marriage in California, spontaneous protests against its passage became sites of racial hostility and scapegoating as mainstream media outlets suggested racial minorities were to blame for the overturning of gay civil rights.  CRS partnered with the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Policy to convene, "The Aftermath of Proposition 8:  Is Gay Really the New Black?"  This program featured a diverse group of panelists who explored the origins of the racialized responses to the proposition's passage, the organizing and voter mobilization on behalf of marriage equality in communities of color, and the role of race in the identity of LGBT people of color and the same sex marriage movement.  The event was webcast live and is available for viewing on CRS Online.

 

2008 Presidential Election Projects CRT Themes on the National Stage

October 2008 - From Barack Obama's racial classification under the law and the role of religion in defining fitness to serve as President of the United States, the 2008 Presidential Election placed the key themes and concepts in critical race theory on a national platform.  On October 27, 2008, CRS at UCLA hosted a public forum, "Identity Politics and Political Identities: Race to the White House 2008,"  which showcased the program's unique breadth and capacity to address the deployment of various identities in the electoral context.  CRS Faculty Director Jerry Kang moderated a panel that included most of the current members of the core faculty of CRS at UCLA.  The panelists applied key insights on issues ranging from intersectionality, racial naturalization, Islamophobia, and comparative subordination to the 2008 Election.  CRS Online stores a description of the program, including CRS faculty writings and interviews during the campaign, as well a video stream of a large portion of the event.

UCLA Law Alums Begin Fellowships; CRS was Key to Success

September 2008 - Hundreds of UCLA Law School students enroll in CRS courses and collaborate in CRS student initiatives each year, even if they are not officially enrolled in the Specialization or certify in CRS upon graduation.  Many of these students credit CRS for providing them with the framework to become creative members of the law profession, including graduates who won highly selective fellowship programs in 2008.  Haroon Azar ('08), Department of Homeland Security Honors Fellow in the Office of Policy and Soros Justice Fellow, Shantel Vachani ('08), cite participation in the CRS program as a key component of their success, since they enrolled in CRS courses, engaged in CRS initiatives, and became active members of the CRS community.  As a student, Haroon participated in the development of CRS initiatives exploring racialiazation and Islam, including the student-initiated "War on Terror and American Racialization Reading Group."  Similarly, Shantel actively engaged in the CRS Gulf Coast Reconstruction Project, travelling to New Orleans to help produce a report on labor violations and the law's role in producing racial conflict in post-Katrina New Orleans.  Read more about CRS initiatives that integrate critical race theory and practice.

Profs. Jerry Lopez and Hiroshi Motomura Become CRS Core and Affiliated Faculty

August 2008 - Two recently appointed faculty members who are prominent figures in clinical legal education and immigration law, respectively, have chosen to affiliate with the Critical Race Studies Program.  Professor Gerald Lopez and Professor Hiroshi Motomura were appointed to the UCLA School of Law faculty in 2008, after serving as Visiting Professors, which exposed them to the intellectual vibrancy of the CRS community and allowed them to make important contributions to CRS students and programs.  Professor Lopez, who joins the CRS Core Faculty, wrote the seminal book "Rebellious Lawyering," and has spent 30 years working on progressive, community-based advocacy in communities of color, immigrant communities, and poor communities. 

Professor Motomura is the latest CRS Affiliated faculty member, and is one of the most highly acclaimed immigration law scholars and advocates for immigrant rights.  He is the author of a widely-used immigration law text, a new textbook "Forced Migration: Laws and Policy," and his book "Americans in Waiting: The Lost Story of Immigration and Citizenship in the US," was awarded the 2006 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Award from the Association of American Publishers - Law and Legal Studies Category.  CRS affiliated faculty members provide critical functions that allow the CRS specialization to serve students at the law school.  Their contributions include supervising CRS students in independent study projects, participating in CRS Faculty Think Meetings, which serve as a laboratory for new scholarly projects, and attending and serving as panelists on CRS panels and programs.  CRS core faculty members carry out all of the functions assumed by CRS affiliated faculty members, and also assist in the administrative decision-making processes related to the CRS specialization.  CRS welcomes Professor Lopez and Professor Motomura and is grateful to them for their service to the students of the program.  To read more about them, please visit the CRS Online faculty page.

Addie Rolnick ('04) selected for Inaugural CRS Law Teaching Fellowship

June 2008 - CRS proudly announces the selection of Addie Rolnick, ('04) for the inaugural CRS Law Teaching Fellowship.  The CRS Program launched a two-year fellowship for alumni of the UCLA School of Law interested in law teaching.  The alumni fellowship complements the CRS program's future law professors track within the CRS Specialization and both aim to nurture the next generation of legal scholars committed to excellent scholarship and racial justice.  The Inaugural CRS Fellow will focus her research during the Fellowship on strategies to bridge Indian law and Critical Race Theory.  Read more.

Priscilla Ocen ('07) wins 2008 Thurgood Marshall Fellowship at LCCR of Bay Area

May 2008 - One of the most presitigous and competitive civil rights fellowships in the United States, the Thurgood Marshall Fellowship, has been awarded to CRS alumna, Priscilla Ocen ('07).  Priscilla is the fourth CRS graduate in a row to be awarded the fellowship.  Kendra Fox-Davis ('06), was replaced by Charles Forster ('07), when she moved from Fellow to Staff Attorney.   They were preceded by Nicholas Espiritu ('04) who is now a staff attorney at the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.  As a CRS student, Priscilla was an active member of the CRS community, travelling to New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and to Brazil as part of the Global Affirmative Action Praxis Project.  After graduation, she served as a clerk for a federal judge in Michigan and will return to California in the Fall 2008 to serve as the Thurgood Marshall Fellow in Oakland.

EJS Selects Claudia Pena('08) as the 2008-09 Constance Baker Motley Fellow

May 2008 - The Equal Justice Society has selected a third consecutive member of the CRS family for its prestigious post-graduation fellowship.  Claudia Pena ('08), will succeed Sara Jackson ('07) and Nicholas Espiritu ('04) as the Constance Baker Motley Fellow, a testament to the commitment and preparation of students who actively participate in the coursework, extracurricular activities, and community of CRS at UCLA.

Carmina Ocampo('08) selected for Skadden Fellowship - 2008-10

April 2008 - CRS graduate, Carmina Ocampo ('08), will spend the next two years at the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, after being selected as a Skadden Fellow from more than 150 applicants nationwide.  Carmina's proposal to work with APALC incorporates her training within the CRS Specialization and reflects her own commitment to race-conscious public interest lawyering.  The Fellowship is among the most highly selective for American law graduates.

CRS Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative Cited as a Model Collaboration

April 2008 - The UCLA Center for Community Partnerships, which funded the CRS Program's Prisioner Re-Entry Intiative, has declared the project a "model collaboration."  UCLA Law students who have been part of the CRS Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative have developed a new student-run legal clinic to address the legal needs of former prisoners.  The clinic is part of the on-going partnership between CRS and A New Way of Life, a community-based re-entry program in South Los Angeles, dedicated to removing barriers to community reintegration faced by former prisoners.  

The clinic began as a pilot in 2007 and became a monthly clinic in 2008, under the leadership of CRS alum, Joshua Kim, who is now a staff attorney at A New Way of Life.  The clinic has made important strides in moving beyond teaching students and community residents how to expunge criminal records, and focusing on combatting employment discrimination against former prisoners.  CRS alumni and students can prepare and register now to volunteer at the Re-entry Legal Clinic.  Read the full story about the PRI on the UCLA in LA website.

CRS Students Conduct Field Research in Brazil

April 2008:  A second cohort of CRS students conducted field research in Brazil, a nation experimenting with race conscious remedies and a surge in social movement-building by Brazilians of African descent.  The field research was conducted over Spring Break as part of a CRS course called Intersectionalities, taught and organized by Professor Crenshaw.  The students' participation is a component of a broader collaboration between CRS at UCLA and the African American Policy Forum called the Global Affirmative Action Praxis Project (GAAPP), which aims to explore CRT frameworks through comparative research focused on racial subordination and racial justice advocacy across various countries.  The program and course have focused on Brazil, France, India, South Africa and the United States.  Students made presentations about their research projects before Ms. Matilde Ribeiro, former Minister for Racial Equality in Brazil and Mr. Carlos Medeiros, Brazilian journalist and activist, who came to UCLA as the inaugural GAAPP Distinguished Fellows.  CRS students have also maintained a blog during their trips to Brazil.

300 People Attend the 2nd Annual CRS Symposium

March 2008 - Moderated by faculty members of the CRS Program at UCLA, "Race, Sexuality & the Law: Abercrombie, Imus & Beyond," featured interdisciplinary academic panels exploring the role of law, culture, media and communities in shaping representations of race, gender and sexual orientation. Sponsored in conjunction with the Williams Institute, the nation's leading think tank on sexual orientation law and policy, the symposium drew more than 300 attendees.  You can "attend" the CRS Symposium virtually each year and watch recordings of past symposia online. 

Consitutional Law Scholar and Muslim Leaders Explore US War on Terror

January 2008 - David Cole, a leading constitutional law scholar and defender of civil liberties, headlined "Guilty Until Proven Innocent," a panel discussion in an ongoing series exploring racialization, war, and religion after 9/11.  Joined by Layla Al-Marayati, MD and Dr. Maher Hathout, leaders in the US Muslim American community, the panel provided a timely account of the law's successes and failure in protecting civil rights and liberties in post 9/11 anti-terrorism efforts.  Professor Cole signed copies of a book he co-authored, "Less Safe, Less Free:  Why America is Losing the War on Terror."  A video and audio recording of the event is available on the CRS Archives page of CRS Online.  Several other CRS programs have examined related issues, including a screening of a documentary on the detention of a university professor on charges of supporting terrorism, an interdisciplinary dialogue called "Anti-Muslim Racism?" and several presentations by Prof. Muneer Ahmad focused on a critical race perspective on Guantanamo Bay.  CRS Faculty Director Jerry Kang subsequently recieved a $10,000 grant to develop a section on war, civil liberties, and discrimination for the CRS Online Encyclopedia to be launched in June 2009.

 

 

	A Commitment to Sustain CRS: Shirin Soleman, Class of 2007  "The transfer process can be both lonely and isolating.  I transferred to UCLA School of Law and was struck by the warmth and intellectual rigor of the CRS community.  This community embraced me and I immediately benefitted from the unique learning environment in the CRS courses and the development of my leadership skills while working on CRS student-faculty initiatives.  I was not officially enrolled in the Specialization and did not certify in CRS, but can say that CRS was the most rewarding aspect of my education at UCLA Law.  Today, I am thrilled to be serving as a co-chair of Friends and Alumni of CRS.  I encourage you to join me in sustaining this important program."                Shirin Soleman, Los Angeles Pro Bono Associate of the Year Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal, Los Angeles, CA CRS Donor 2007 - Deans Circle
How to Give to CRS at UCLA We are working to grow our unique program and extend the law school's legacy as a pioneer in legal education for racial justice.  We need your support to accomplish this goal.  Please do so by making a secure online donation to the Dean's Discretionary Fund (selected by default) and type "For CRS at UCLA" in the Comments section at the bottom.  Thank you! All donors who give $100 will receive a signed re-print of a CRS professor's recent scholarly article!
The mission of the Critical Race Studies Program at UCLA Law is to think new ideas, teach new leaders and scholars, and to transform racial justice advocacy.