CLEAR Conference - School of Law

Imperiled Democracy:
The Unfinished Promise of Democracy and the Role of Racial Justice Centers

The Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR) at Northeastern University School of Law invites you to join us to explore, discuss, strategize and share best practices as law school centers focused on racial, social and economic justice grapple with current assaults on these rights.

Hosted by Northeastern Law’s Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR), this conference will

Convene racial justice centers and social justice non-profits using law and legal strategies to challenge and/or defend basic constitutional and human rights;
Discuss the current challenges to the basic constitutional and human rights of Black and other BIPOC communities; and
Explore creative strategies for legal academics and advocates to promote, defend and ensure those basic rights through research, innovative pedagogy, litigation and other initiatives.

>> Download the poster
>> Download the program

Multimedia

>> View photo gallery

Watch Professor Margaret Burnham's Fireside Chat with Rahsaan Hall ’98, president and CEO of the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.

Watch Day 2 of the Conference

Conference Schedule

Thursday, June 1, 2023
65 Forsyth Street, Dockser Commons (Lower Level)
6:00 - 7:00 PM	Welcome and Introduction Deborah A. Jackson Managing Director, Center for Law, Equity and Race, Northeastern University School of Law Fireside Chat: Framing the Issues in the Fight for Democracy Rahsaan Hall ’98 President and CEO, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts Margaret A. Burnham Distinguished University Professor of Law; Director, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project; Faculty Co-Director, Center for Law, Equity and Race, Northeastern University School of Law
7:00 - 8:30 PM	Buffet Dinner and Networking
Friday, June 2, 2023
65 Forsyth Street, 240 Dockser (Second Floor)
8:00 - 8:45 AM	Registration and Continental Breakfast Lounge area outside 240 Dockser
9:00 - 9:15 AM	Welcome Remarks Deborah A. Jackson Managing Director, Center for Law, Equity and Race, Northeastern University School of Law James Hackney Dean and Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law
9:15 - 10:15 AM	A Conversation with Ibram X. Kendi Ibram X. Kendi Director and Founder, Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University Katheryn Russell Brown Levin, Mabie and Levin Professor of Law and Director of the Race and Crime Center for Justice at the University of Florida, Levin College of Law
10:15 - 10:30 AM	Break - Refreshments Lounge area outside 240 Dockser
10:30 - 11:30 AM	Roundtable Discussion: Current Work of Racial Justice Centers and the Way Forward to Advance Democracy Moderator: Deborah A. Ramirez Professor of Law,Faculty Co-Director, CLEAR; Director, Criminal Justice Task Force, Northeastern University School of Law Panelists: Robert S. Chang Professor of Law and Executive Director, Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, Seattle University School of Law Jason D. Williamson Executive Director, Center on Race,Inequality, and the Law, NYU School of Law LaToya Baldwin Clark Assistant Professor of Law, Critical Race Studies Program, UCLA Law School Ada Goodly Lampkin Director, Louis A. Berry Institute forCivil Rights and Justice, Southern University Law Center Alora Thomas-Lundborg Strategic Litigation and Advocacy Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Harvard Law School
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM	Q&A
12:00 - 1:00 PM	Lunch Break Lounge area outside 240 Dockser
1:15 - 2:30 PM	Breakout Group 1 32 Dockser (lower level) Facilitators Jonathan D. Kahn Professor of Law and Biology, Northeastern University Gavin Logan ’10 Privacy and Public Policy Manager (Messenger), Meta Breakout Group 2 42 Dockser (lower level) Facilitators Rose Zoltek-Jick Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Director, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, Northeastern University School of Law Malcolm Clarke Elizabeth Zitrin Fellow, Center for Law, Equity and Race, Northeastern University School of Law
2:30 - 2:45 PM	Break - Refreshments Lounge area outside 240 Dockser
2:45 - 4:00 PM	Report Back From Breakout Groups and Group Discussion
4:00 - 4:30 PM	Closing Remarks Deborah Ramirez Professor of Law, Faculty Co-Director, CLEAR; Director, Criminal Justice Task Force, Northeastern University School of Law
4:30 - 6:00 PM	Reception and Networking Lounge area outside 240 Dockser

Speakers

Featured Guest
Ibram X. Kendi
Director and Founder, Center for Antiracist Research, Boston University

Presenters
LaToya Baldwin Clark
Assistant Professor of Law, Critical Race Studies Program, UCLA Law School
Margaret A. Burnham
Distinguished University Professor of Law; Director, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project; Faculty Co-Director, Center for Law, Equity and Race, Northeastern University School of Law
Robert Chang
Professor of Law and Executive Director, Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, Seattle University School of Law
Ada Goodly Lampkin
Director, Louis A. Berry Institute for Civil Rights and Justice, Southern University Law Center
James Hackney
Dean and Professor of Law, Northeastern University School of Law
Rahsaan Hall ’98
President and CEO, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts
Deborah A. Jackson
Managing Director, Center for Law, Equity and Race, Northeastern University School of Law
Deborah Ramirez
Professor of Law; Chair, Criminal Justice Task Force; Faculty Co-Director, Center for Law, Equity and Race (CLEAR), Northeastern University School of Law
Katheryn Russell-Brown
Levin, Mabie & Levin Professor of Law and Director of the Race and Crime Center for Justice at the University of Florida, Levin College of Law
Alora Thomas-Lundborg
Strategic Litigation and Advocacy Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Harvard Law School
Jason D. Williamson
Executive Director, Center on Race,Inequality, and the Law, NYU School of Law
Rose Zoltek-Jick
Associate Teaching Professor and Associate Director, Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project