University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

In graduate school, one of the memorable books that I read for the first time was Simple Justice, a story of the legal strategy crafted and then meticulously implemented in the face of tremendous challenges that culminated in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision declaring that racial segregation of schools was inherently unconstitutional. Beyond this important history, Kluger’s book helps to illustrate a monumental turning point in our nation facing a long history of racial discrimination as well as documenting the effort to change the way all Americans viewed race, justice, and the law. This was, then, both an effort to change hearts and minds as well as the law to move closer to achieving equality.

As a student, I benefited from lawyers and social scientists who struggled for decades to integrate the public schools I attended in Mobile, Alabama, which spurred my own interest in the topics I study today. An important part of my scholarly work now is to inform the work and even work alongside the civil rights lawyers of this generation and other colleagues in the quest to fully implement the ideals of Brown in the twenty-first century. I am grateful for the opportunity to engage in solving what I believe to be some of the most critical questions of our time in terms of racial equality and educational opportunity. Just as I was inspired when I first read Simple Justice by the coordinated actions of community members, lawyers, and social scientists, I continue to be inspired by the lawyers and plaintiffs who persist in challenging racial injustice. I am especially appreciative of the enthusiastic support of my family—Mark, Oli, and Helena—and our village that makes engaging in this work feasible.