UCLA

Amidst the surge of national conversations about race and racism, law schools, which educate decision makers in U.S. society, must be focal. Further, what can we learn by centering Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which prioritize social transformation in law school missions?

This study continues the Educational Diversity Project (EDP), a longitudinal study of U.S. law schools launched immediately following Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), in which the Supreme Court upheld race conscious admissions at the University of Michigan Law School. EDP-1, conducted between 2004 and 2007, engages how law school shape students’ experiences; academic, professional, and personal choices and attitudes; as well as students’ overall views of law school. In EDP-2, over a decade into the future, we have the opportunity to follow up with participants, now law school graduates, and place findings from across time in conversation.

Guided by the insights shared during their time in law school, I ask how EDP-2 focal participants make sense of their law school journeys, the legal system, and their roles within it. Focusing on East University Law School, results include a) descriptive findings from first-year law student survey responses; b) themes from focus group interviews conducted during students’ first, second, and third years in law school; and c) themes from follow-up interviews with EDP-2 participants. EDP-1 themes include: 1) (Un)Supportive Environment, 2) Rejecting Racelessness and Deficit Perspectives On HBCUs, and 3) Higher Education Debt. EDP-2 themes include: 1) The Importance of a Name: Early and Ongoing Interests in Law, 2) The Cost of a Legal Education and Career: Financial and to Self, and 3) Power and Hierarchy.

Among key findings, participants reflect on the complexities of their law school environment, call to abolish slavery within the U.S. Constitution, experience “debt nightmares,” and choose to exit from the misogynoir at a law firm. This work concludes with a discussion of the sustained attack on Critical Race Theory, the guiding framework of this dissertation, and engages key recommendations from law school students and leaders on centering racial justice in legal education.