Columbia BLSA

06/12/2019

While we are pleased with this announcement, we recognize that there is much work to be done. We hope to work with the administration, faculty, and students to implement mandatory trainings for all faculty, and to ensure more inclusivity in the classroom. The proposed trainings will contribute to a robust learning community for all students at Columbia Law School.

06/11/2019

Response Statement: BLSA Calls for More Inclusive Teaching

Dear Law School Community,

Elizabeth Lederer, a Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and an active prosecutor in the New York County District Attorney’s Office, was the lead prosecutor on the Central Park Jogger case in 1989. She wrongfully prosecuted and convicted five innocent Black and Latinx boys: Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Korey Wise, also known as the “Central Park Five.”

The lives of these five boys were forever changed as a result of Lederer’s conduct. During the investigation, Lederer and her colleagues used harmful, racist tactics, including physical abuse and coercion, to force confessions from the five minors. The case they built was founded on false information and an overwhelming lack of physical evidence. As a result, five boys spent their formative years in prison until the charges were vacated in 2002 after the real perpetrator confessed to the crime and DNA evidence linking him to the crime was discovered.

Since Lederer’s integral role in the case has received a national spotlight, there have been multiple efforts urging Columbia Law School to take action. In 2013 a petition was circulated, which gained thousands of signatures and demanded the removal of Lederer. Instead of taking decisive action to address the issue, Columbia Law School simply removed the Central Park jogger case from Lederer’s online bio. Now, with the release of Ava Duvernay's When They See Us on Netflix, Columbia’s inaction on this subject shows a disconnect between the values Columbia purports and the actions the Law School takes. Another petition, circulated by our brothers, sisters, and non-binary friends at Columbia University Black Students’ Organization, has gained thousands of signatures and again demands for the removal of Elizabeth Lederer.

Lederer is not the first prosecutor to send innocent Black and Latinx children to prison, nor will she be the last. Rather, the legal system as a whole, including legal education, endorses a carceral state that devalues the lives of Black and Brown people.

Columbia Law School should fire Elizabeth Lederer, but that is just a start. The School must do more because letting one professor go does not improve the lives of Black and Latinx law students, nor does it improve the learning experience of students of color at Columbia Law School. It does nothing to rectify the harms inflicted upon Santana, Richardson, McCray, Salaam, or Wise. Furthermore, it does nothing to ensure the pedagogy that created prosecutors like Elizabeth Lederer does not create another. If Columbia Law School wants to show that they care about Black and Brown law students then the school needs to address the racism inherent in how the law is taught.

The Black Law Students Association demands that Columbia Law School explain any actions it has taken to hold Elizabeth Lederer accountable. We also ask that Columbia implement professionally-led, mandatory, anti-racist trainings for all educators at the law school, re-evaluate the hiring curriculum to prioritize staff that already bring cultural competencies into the classroom, and re-evaluate law school curriculums to prevent perpetuating racist practices.

Ava Duvernay's powerful film has shed light on details of a story some of us know too well. But we need to do more than shine a light into darkness if we want to achieve a just, more equitable world. We need action. We ask that Columbia Law School take action with us, and in-doing so, demonstrate its commitment to training and educating lawyers who will go on to impact people’s lives and affect their communities.

As the Black Law Students Association on Columbia’s campus, we stand with Columbia University Black Students’ Organization (BSO), Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), Criminal Justice Action Network (CJAN) Columbia Law Feminist Society (CLFS), Columbia Law Students for Palestine (CLSP), Columbia Law School Women’s Association (CLWA), Empowering Women of Color (EWOC), First Generation Professionals (FGP), Latinx Law Students Association (LaLSA), Law in Africa Students Society (LASS), National Lawyers Guild (NLG), Native American Law Students Association (NALSA), New England Law Students Association (NELSA), The Public Defender Students of Columbia Law School (PDSCLS), Outlaws, Q***r Trans People of Color (QTPOC), RightsLink, South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA), and Student Senate as we are all a part of this community. We ask that Columbia Law School act in a manner that supports the learning and living environment of all students.

In Solidarity,

BLSA Executive Board

05/04/2018

April 17, 2018 marked the first year since the passing of the Honorable Sheila Abdus-Salaam, yet she is still with us. To honor her presence, Columbia Law School BLSA Class of 2018 requests your help in continuing her legacy of selfless giving to the Harlem community she called home for many years.

Our cohort seeks to honor Judge Abdus-Salaam’s service by giving a gift to Project Brownstone, Inc., an organization whose mission is to “find holistic ways of developing and empowering underserved youths in Harlem.” Judge Abdus-Salaam served on the Board of Directors for Project Brownstone and her family chose to support the organization with this gift.

Judge Abdus-Salaam was a proud member of Columbia BLSA, and expressed her commitment to the Black women and men here by being present. She showed up for us every year as a mentor, a speaker, and supporter of our own initiatives. Judge Abdus-Salaam had time for us. We thank you for your time in return.

We ask that you join us in supporting Project Brownstone by contributing electronically at the GoFundMe link below or mailing a check (payee: Columbia Law School BLSA) to:

Wendell Ramsey
c/o Columbia Law School BLSA
435 West 116th Street
New York, NY 10027
________________

https://www.gofundme.com/blsa-18-gift-obo-judge-abdussalaam

03/08/2018

Dear Columbia Law School,

As law students of color, we learn early in life that social justice work often requires undoing the wrongs the legal system visits upon our communities. Slavery and Japanese internment were legal. Today, ICE Raids are legal, and The Supreme Court has currently allowed the Muslim ban to take effect. As future lawyers of color, we must contend with joining a system that has traditionally disenfranchised and oppressed the communities we come from.

In late 2017, a notable white supremacist group posted recruitment fliers around Stanford Law School (SLS). Last quarter, racist anti-immigrant hate mail was stuffed in a student’s mailbox at SLS. In response, a group of women of color at SLS hung a banner in the law school that read “Racism Lives Here Too.” Racist acts are not surprising or unique to “top” law schools like Stanford Law School, Harvard Law School, Berkeley Law School, or even Columbia Law School. The reality is that as law students of color, we know that racism and other -isms live here, too.

As fellow students of color at Columbia Law, we stand in solidarity with people of color in all spaces who experience marginalization because of their identities. We stand in solidarity with students, faculty, and staff of color at Berkeley, Stanford, Harvard, UC Hastings, and other law schools. We also express our staunch belief that only by working together with faculty, staff, and students can we truly stamp out prejudice surrounding our campus. We acknowledge that by not doing so, we fail not only students, staff, and faculty who are affected, but also the legal profession and our communities.

Inexplicably, we often avoid open discussions of racism and inequality while studying laws that perpetuate, and are sometimes explicitly rooted in, racism, white supremacy, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and social inequality. Our legal system carries a legacy of genocide and codifying forced displacement of Native Americans, abuse and claimed ownership of black and brown bodies, and institutionalized injustice. If we do not have a conversation about “-isms” of subordination and how we all contribute to their existence, then we will never end them. It is in this context that we write to you.

Our history of activism teaches us that there is strength in numbers. We call our fellow students, administrators, and faculty to break the culture of silence, repeated history, and complacency by proactively moving towards reconciliation. We see and recognize the allies (students, faculty, and staff) who reached out to us and firmly stand with us to help pave the way for meaningful actions and conversations to address racial, gender, economic, sexual orientation, and ability equity and justice in law school and in our communities.

In Solidarity,

Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Latino/a Law Students Association (LaLSA), Empowering Women of Color (EWOC), Middle Eastern Law Students Association (MELSA), Columbia Law Women’s Association (CLWA), Outlaws, Law in Africa Students Society (LASS), Jewish Law Students Association (JLSA), Asian Pacific American Law Students Association (APALSA), NALSA (Native American Law Students Association) and Q***r and Trans People of Color (QTPOC), South Asian Law Students Association (SALSA), Muslim Law Students Association (MLSA)

06/03/2017

03/03/2017

03/01/2017

Our gem is no longer hidden.

We are proud to announce that Columbia Law School has appointed Yadira Ramos-Herbert as its new Dean of Students!

02/25/2017

The Columbia Black Law Students Association Presents the 23rd Annual Paul Robeson Gala, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2017

02/06/2017

01/29/2017

Please see below for a list of actions you can join throughout the week in protest of trump's Executive Order:

SUNDAY

Brooklyn Emergency Meeting
Brooklyn Congresswoman Yvette Clarke—who was among the congressional lawmakers who skipped Trump’s inauguration—is holding an emergency meeting to inform residents about Trump’s Muslim travel ban and what to do next at 6 pm at 1107 Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn.

Emergency Call
MoveOn.org is holding its second emergency call with the Working Families Party and People’s Action today at 8 pm to discuss its plan for its next , which is taking place on January 31 outside members of Congress’ district offices. The groups held the first such call following the Women’s March on Washington.

MONDAY

Grad Workers Emergency Meeting
The GWC-UAW Local 2110 Graduate Workers of Columbia is hosting an emergency meeting at 12 pm for Columbia University students who think they may be affected by Trump’s executive actions. The location has not yet been announced. At the meeting, participants will share experiences and concerns and discuss ideas about how their school’s administration can provide support to affected students.

University Rally to Support Muslim Community
The “Columbia University Rally Against Anti-Muslim Racism,” hosted by International Students’ Working Group of the GWC-UAW, will take place at the university’s Low Steps at 5 pm. The protest will assail discrimination and ask Columbia University’s administration to pledge to support concerned students and employees. The group also aims to express solidarity with all other communities affected by Trump’s actions.

Rally Against Hate
Councilwoman Rosie Mendez will be leading a Lower East Side “Rally Against Hate” hate at 6:30 p.m. in Tompkins Square Park. The rally, which is calling for equal human rights for everyone, will gather at the former Bandshell near East 7th Street.

Public Advocate Letitia James; Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer; District Leader Carlina Rivera, who is running for Mendez’s seat; District Leader Anthony Feliciano; Jamila Hammami, director of the Q***r Detainee Empowerment Project; the Urban Justice Center; and faith leaders from the Islamic Council of America and Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, will also be participating in the rally.

Youth on Next Steps in the Trump Era
Rev. Al Sharpton‘s National Action Network Youth Huddle is having a community open forum at 7 pm at the NAN House of Justice in Harlem with a panel of activists, community leaders and elected officials to discuss their 2017 agenda. The forum, the first NAN Youth Huddle of the year, is looking to explore next steps in the Trump era after marching and rallying. Kirsten John Foy, NAN’s Northeast regional director, will be among the speakers.

WEDNESDAY

World Hijab Day
World Hijab Day will take place at 12 pm at City Hall for a day of solidarity with Muslim women worldwide and in recognition of millions of Muslim who choose to wear the traditional head covering. The celebration, which started in February 2013, focuses on fighting bigotry, discrimination and stereotyping toward Muslim women. Southeast Queens and South Asian activist Mazeda Uddin is one of the organizers of the New York City event.

March for Muslims and Allies
The “No Ban No Wall! March for Muslims and Allies!,” co-sponsored by Syria Solidarity New York City and Committee in Solidarity with the People of Syria, is scheduled for at 5 pm in Foley Square. The march aims to protest Trump’s actions targeting Muslims, refugees and immigrants. They will march to the Jacob Javits Federal Building at where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has its New York City office.