Why I Will Not Stop Teaching Law Students to Think Critically About Race: the Attack on Teaching about the Role of Race in Law

Authors

LeRoy PernellFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

As someone who has been involved in legal education teaching for over 40 years and as someone who was drawn to legal education as an alternative to a career more directly devoted to litigation concerning racial justice, so that others might be encouraged to explore critically both what race has meant to our legal system and how we might collectively counter its negative influence, the “Stop W.O.K.E act” presents a real and present danger. Thus, in August of 2022 I agreed to be the lead named plaintiff in Pernell, et. al. v. Florida Board of Governors of the State University System, et. al. Case No. 4:22cv304-MW/MAF, with representation by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, The American Civil Liberties Union, and the law firm Ballard Spahr.6 On November 17, 2022, Judge Mark Walker, United States District Court, issued a preliminary injunction barring the Florida Board of Governors of the State University System, from the enforcement of this act. It is the first decision of its kind to halt suppression of thought surrounding Critical Race Theory.

As of the date of this writing the case is on appeal to the United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. This article is not about that case or its specifics as it applies to me. Rather, this article will explore the national effort to legislatively suppress Critical Race Theory and the teaching of the significance of race as a pedagogical tool and to demonize those who support and promote the importance of such teaching in our legal education system – particularly at this time. This article will explore the Critical Race Theory (CRT) connection to the educational development of the African American community as well as its role in providing both a voice for a community often historically voiceless and a vital cog in bringing about transformative change. This article will also look behind the egalitarian façade used to justify these laws through false fears and somewhat disingenuous declarations of a “Color-Blind”, Post-Racial Society.

Recommended Citation

LeRoy Pernell, Why I Will Not Stop Teaching Law Students to Think Critically About Race: the Attack on Teaching about the Role of Race in Law, 25 Rutgers Race & L. Rev. 1 (2024).