Fall 2020

CRS Celebrates 20th Anniversary and Looks Forward to the Next Twenty Years

As UCLA Law’s Critical Race Studies program celebrates its twentieth year, some of our scholars take a moment to reflect on the importance of Critical Race Theory, especially during these challenging times. Our program director, Jasleen Kohli, looks back on the 20 years we have spent as a community and what it means to continue fighting the just fight.  Professor Jennifer Chacón reflects on the Supreme Court’s opinion in Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California and highlights the failure of equal protection. Against the backdrop of the ongoing pandemic and stay-at-home orders, Professor LaToya Baldwin Clark weighs in on what it means to work while engaging in full-time childcare. Professor Jonathan Glater highlights how this crisis has forced us to meaningfully think about how to combat inequality in our higher education systems, and how the law can be used to promote fairness. Our Faculty Director, Professor Laura Gómez, speaks on why it was necessary to release her book Inventing Latinos against the current political climate. Expanding on her New York Times op-ed, Professor Angela Riley explains how dismantling America’s racialized (and racist) symbols is both necessary and more than just a symbolic gesture. And Professor Joanna Schwartz invites us to think critically about what it would mean for the Supreme Court to finally abolish qualified immunity.

Defending Critical Race Theory Against President Trump’s Attack

Against the backdrop of ongoing national conversations about police brutality and its roots in systemic racism, President Trump in September 2020 issued a ban on Critical Race Theory. Read more about our response here.

Critical Race Studies Webinars Spotlight

The Critical Race Studies specialization enhances coursework with a variety of collaborative and interdisciplinary events that aim to connect theory with practice. Some of the recent webinars we hosted for our community of students, alumni, and scholars include What Critical Race Studies Teaches Us About Racism, Resistance and Policing featuring CRS faculty members E. Tendayi Achiume, Devon Carbado, Cheryl I. Harris, and Laura E. Gómez in conversation to discuss how race and the law intersect in ways that uphold our nation’s current systems of racial oppression, Dismantling Racism: Critical Race Studies in Action with alumni in conversation with CRS program director Jasleen Kohli, and Racing the Bar: The Racial Construction of Merit & the CA Bar Exam in which Victor D. Quintanilla discusses new research on bar exam cut scores and the impact on the racial and ethnic composition of the legal profession. For all of these events and more, you can also visit our CRS multimedia archives.

Meet Our 2020 Glazer Scholars

"As we look at the wonderful and changing diversity of my city, L.A., it’s important not to lose sight of those who have great potential to develop as leaders who will continue to invest their time and expertise on behalf of their communities.” – Erika J. Glazer

Established in 2018, the Erika J. Glazer Endowed Scholarship has supported first-year law students who are dedicated to achieving equity for Los Angeles’ Black communities. Made possible by the initial $250,000 gift from Glazer, a philanthropist who focuses on developing strong communities throughout Los Angeles, this fund will help train future attorneys, academics, and advocates who will work with a deep understanding of the intersection of race and the law. This years’ recipients are Terry Allen ’23, Amber Dean ’23 and Nicole Powell ’23.

CRS Faculty Highlights

Two CRS professors recently received faculty chair appointments: Kimberlé W. Crenshaw holds the Promise Institute Chair in Human Rights; Laura E. Gómez holds the Rachel F. Moran Endowed Chair in Law. Professor E. Tendayi Achiume has earned UCLA’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the university’s highest honor for excellence in the classroom. Achiume was also named the recipient of the Eby Award for the Art of Teaching for 2019-20. Jonathan Glater, whose innovative scholarship focuses on the intersection of the law and higher education, joined UCLA School of Law and CRS faculty.

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