Read on Twitter
The next @LWIonline presentation is from Elizabeth Bloom, Stephanie Hartung, and Deborah Johnson ( @NUSL) on Addressing Structural Racism: Teaching Exercises for the Legal Skills Classroom. #LWIOneDay2020
An overview of antiracism lens exercises:
Prof. Bloom explains that @NUSL has social justice learning outcomes embedded into the institutional curriculum. #LWIOneDay2020
Prof. Hartung is discussing the first exercise, which involves applying an antiracism lens to a legal analysis. She does this in the fall objective memo assignment. #LWIOneDay2020
The foundation for the assignment is a set of readings introducing structural racism. This year's readings included @DrIbram's How to be an Antiracist and @nhannahjones's It's Time for Reparations from @NYTmag. #LWIOneDay2020
They apply these concepts in the context of the second fall memo assignment, which is based on the arrest of Harvard prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (from an assignment created by Amy Vorenberg). #LWIOneDay2020
More details about the assignment, which was under section 1983: #LWIOneDay2020
In the course of their research, students realize that the underlying statute has a tortured history with very ambiguous terms and that the fact pattern itself is racialized but the disorderly conduct case law doesn't talk about race at all. #LWIOneDay2020
So how do students apply an antiracist lens to the analysis? One concrete way is through an editing exercise: #LWIOneDay2020
Students are asked to look internally at their own biases or assumptions, what role race plays in the fact pattern, and to think about disorderly conduct as a racist policy. #LWIOneDay2020
How to think about disorderly conduct as a racist policy? (1) Statutory construction--the vagueness and discretion left to police leads to disproportionate outcomes. (2) Language of the statute--for example, whether the conduct had a "legitimate purpose." #LWIOneDay2020
(3) Looking to a case in a different context analyzing racial disparities in policing in MA #LWIOneDay2020
Takeaways: It was challenging to the students but in a helpful way, concrete application made difficult concepts more digestible, and it requires students to apply a critical lens (internally and externally) #LWIOneDay2020
Professor Johnson is introducing the second exercise, which focuses on oral communication and getting students to talk about race, culture, bias, and identity in a direct way. #LWIOneDay2020
This exercise is done after readings and in-class discussions about these topics, so there is some comfort level but Prof. Johnson also reminds her students that discomfort is ok. #LWIOneDay2020
