November 20, 2009
Two-Day Event Held In Honor of the 40th
Anniversary of Ronald H. Brown’s Graduation from the St. John’s
School of Law
The
Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development
(“
The Ronald H. Brown Center”) at St. John’s University’s School
of Law celebrated the 40th anniversary of Ronald H. Brown’s
graduation from the school with a two-day symposium on November
13-14, 2009, by assembling and hosting multiple panels of experts
who spoke on the topics of racial, social, and economic justice,
and who explored how to increase underrepresented groups’ presence
in the legal profession.
Photo Gallery
The Ronald H. Brown Center, led by Director Leonard M. Baynes,
Professor of Law, and Assistant Director Janai S. Nelson, Assistant
Professor of Law, is widely considered to be one of the premier
academic think-tanks on the issues of racial, social, and economic
justice in the United States. The Center was founded in 2000.
Brown was a major force in the Democratic Party and is
recognized for breaking racial barriers. After graduating from St.
John’s, he became Deputy Executive Director of the Urban League;
the first black partner of Patton, Boggs, LLP; a deputy campaign
manager for the presidential campaign of Edward Kennedy; was
appointed the first black chairman of the Democratic National
Committee; and was named the first black secretary of
commerce.
Professor Baynes began the day by reading a letter sent by New York
Governor David Paterson (D), the first black governor of New York,
which recognized the anniversary.
“I am delighted to send greetings to everyone gathered to celebrate
the 40th anniversary of Ronald H. Brown’s graduation from St.
John’s University School of law,” Paterson said in the
letter.
“Speakers at commencement ceremonies often refer to graduation as a
beginning – a time when a graduate embarks on a new journey to
fully explore the reach of their talents, missions and aspirations.
In 1970, Ronald Harmon Brown graduated from St. John’s University
School of Law and blazed the trail for countless African-Americans
and others to follow,” Paterson said.
Michael A. Simons, Law School Dean and John V. Brennan Professor of
Law and Ethics, said during his introduction that for the first
time in Law School history student editors of The Journal of
Civil Rights and Economic Development, a scholarly journal
published by the center, would be moderating each of the
panels.
Leonard M. Baynes added that the partnership “shows a unique
collaboration between the Center and the Journal.”
Twenty-five St. John’s law faculty participated in the panel
events, which ranged in topics from “the history of the Negro
lawyer,” to the “Age of ‘Post-Racial Obama.’” Each faculty member
viewed his or her discipline through the lens of social, racial and
economic justice.” Dean Michael Simons found that the
“Symposium was a great way to showcase the faculty’s commitment to
the values of racial, social and economic justice that underlie the
University’s Vincentian Mission.”
Victoria L. Brown-Douglas, Assistant Professor of Clinical Legal
Education, presented a paper on “redefining the role of the Negro
lawyer,” which provided a history of blacks’ involvement in
American law. She spoke about the hurdles black lawyers, or those
blacks who wanted to enter the profession, faced – from the ‘“white
media giant” that controlled the image of negro lawyers, to whites’
oppression of blacks.’
Melinda S. Molina, Research Professor of Law and Fellow of the
Ronald H. Brown Center, spoke about the underrepresentation of
female Hispanics in the law profession.
“Only 1.3 percent of the nation’s lawyers are Latinas, the lowest
representation of any racial or ethnic group,” Professor Molina
said. “There is still a glass ceiling, not just for women, I
think there is even a higher ceiling for a Latina lawyer,” her
research concluded.
Another speaker, Janai S. Nelson, Assistant Professor of Law and
Assistant Director of the Ronald H. Brown Center, presented a paper
on the “myth of post-racialism,” saying that despite the election
of the first black president, it may not be the end of racial
discrimination directed against blacks.
“There has been significant progress towards the ideal of equality
in the context of race relations in America, but significant work
remains to achieve racial equality in politics in America,” Nelson
said.
On Saturday, the symposium focused on diversity in the legal
profession and included discussion of the latest research and
programs designed to increase diversity.
Alumni of the Ronald H. Brown Prep Program and alumni of the Legal
Outreach Program for high school students were members of two
panels and spoke about their experiences in their respective
programs and how it aided them in law school admissions on high
school respectively. Professor Nelson was inspired by the
opportunities that the Admissions Fair provided to the Prep Program
students. “They had the unique opportunity to interview with
admissions officers from around the country, which should improve
their chances of getting into law school.”
The two-year Prep Program is designed to increase law school
admissions opportunities for first generation college students from
underrepresented backgrounds. During the course of the Prep
program, the students take an array of law school classes, and take
internships with state court judges and other legal employers. The
program has been able to increase the students’ LSAT scores by an
average of 10 points and has placed almost 90% of the students in
some of the most competitive law schools across the country,
including Yale, UCLA, George Washington, Boston College, and St.
John’s.
Professor Baynes noted that the two-day symposium provided the
Center a means to link its academic journal and its programs
together in order to create a synergy in the Center’s operation. He
said: “The two-day symposium was a great day for the law school.”
For more information on the Ronald H. Brown Center, the 40th
Anniversary Weekend, or its programs and other symposia, please
click here or contact Ms. Dawn Bell at (718) 990-8076 or email
englerd@stjohns.edu.