Outside the Student Union on the North Campus is the “Paint-a-Bull” statue that members of the UB community can paint any time.
Taking Action, Demanding Change
In many ways, 2020 was a pivotal year for racial justice. Consistent with a swelling intolerance for racial inequities in our society, the School of Law has redoubled its efforts toward diversity, equity and inclusion – and harnessed the passion of students, staff and faculty toward that important end.
“Everyone is feeling the emotional toll of this,” says Tolulope Odunsi, assistant dean for diversity, equity and inclusion. “But it has had a greater impact on our students of color, because of their personal experiences with racism. It’s important for all of us to deal with our emotions, but it’s also inspiring to see people not give up on doing this work and continuing to advocate for racial justice.”
As demonstrators voiced their anger nationwide, the law school responded with a range of initiatives. Most broadly, the school is working on a strategic plan that will, among other things, revamp academic programming to include courses on the legal and historical context for racial inequality and provide additional training for faculty and staff to further their understanding of these issues and promote cultural competency.
Professors Luis Chiesa, Anthony O’Rourke and Athena Mutua lead a conversation on George Floyd, race and policing.
A series of new programming made for rich discussion in 2020:
- An academic panel, “George Floyd, Policing and Race,” drew over150 participants in a Zoom discussion of the ways in which law, policing and race intersect. The webinar featured Professors Luis Chiesa, Athena Mutua and Anthony O’Rourke.
- “Defunding the Police: A Conversation” brought together academic experts from law schools across the country to examine the hot-button issue of defunding police departments.
- Journalist Gilbert King made a guest appearance in a Legal Analysis, Writing and Research class to discuss his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Devil in the Grove, about a 1949 criminal case against four wrongly accused Black defendants. All incoming 1L students were asked to read the book over the summer.
- Zoom listening sessions have provided students the opportunity to voice their concerns, seek assistance, and offer suggestions on how the school can best support its students.
- A new faculty-led Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is developing initiatives such as academic and professional programming, curriculum planning, student support, recruitment and retention, community outreach, and faculty and staff recruiting. The committee was chaired by Professor Michael Boucai throughout the fall semester. It is chaired by Professors Christine Bartholomew and Luis Chiesa this spring. In addition, the UB Law Alumni Association has formed a Social Justice and Racial Equity Committee to create additional programming with community partners.
- Odunsi presented trainings on building an anti-racist culture to the Dean’s Advisory Council, the boards of the Law Alumni Association and its GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) Group and the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department.
This energy has also looked outward to the wider community. Members of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) connected with the office of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, which has solicited input on policing reforms. Aldiama Anthony ’21, BLSA’s 2020-21 president, is working with members of her executive board on legal research to help inform decision-making on policy.
“Our goal is to research laws that could help the Black community, specifically on the use of deadly force by police, as well as collective bargaining laws,” Anthony says. “Combining the community-based approach by our activists, with utilizing our legal background as law students, can bring about the effective change that our society needs.