Law Schools

Top 25 Law School To Offer Mandatory Course On Racism

The top law school is the first in the country to require such a course.

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In the wake of this past summer’s mass protests and demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd, law schools across the country were inspired to offer their students new ways to respond to calls for racial justice and deal with decades of systemic inequity. One of America’s most elite law schools is now doing something that no other top school has done before by creating a required course on racism and the law.

The University of Southern California Gould School of Law announced last month that a course entitled “Race, Racism and the Law” will be a graduation requirement for the class of 2024 and beyond. USC Gould is the first top 25 school to add a mandatory class like this to its curriculum.

Here’s an excerpt from the school’s press release about its new class:

“The Black Lives Matter protests as well as the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and many others all had an impact on our students and faculty. This moment requires that we ask about our obligations to the legal community, to society, and to the world writ large,” says Professor and Vice Dean Franita Tolson, who co-chaired the Academic Affairs subcommittee charged with developing the course. “The course will help students recognize that their obligation as lawyers, regardless of their specialty, is to understand that law does not always operate equally – that race is an enduring part of the legal profession and our everyday lives.” …

“It’s nice to be a trailblazer,” says Professor Ariela Gross, who also co-chaired the subcommittee. “A lot of schools are considering this. Colleagues at many other law schools have been contacting me because they are coming up with proposals. I won’t be surprised to see other schools making announcements about similar courses in the spring.”

Martina Fouquet, a member of the Black Law Students Association, served as student representative on the subcommittee, had this to say: “It is possible, due to the rigor of law school, to graduate without a core understanding of the social context informing why laws are the way they are. First and foremost, I hope this course helps students understand the historical context of race and the law … how a law that might seem race neutral can have an application that is racially skewed.”

USC Gould Law is taking an incredibly important step here by making its Race, Racism and the Law course mandatory. It ensures that all students at the school will learn the important lessons being taught, not just students who would normally choose to take the class as an elective. Hopefully more law schools will soon begin to make courses that teach these essential lessons a requirement.

USC Gould to offer unique required course focusing on race in legal system [USC Gould Law]
USC one of first schools to make racism course mandatory [National Jurist]

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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