Race and the Law
Florida A&M University College of Law
Summer 2016
Prof. Nisé Guzmán Nekheba, Associate Professor of Law
Class Meets: Wednesdays 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Room 255
Office Hours: Fridays via telephone or Skype; and by appointment.
Office: 335A
Email: [email protected]
Note: The best way to contact me is via email.
Skype Username: Lunaviento
Telephone for Office Hours: 321-282-3087 (This phone number is solely designated for office
hours).
Program Assistant: Ms. Evett Collins
Email: [email protected] (Tel.: 407-254-3264)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course will comprehensively examine how race intersects laws, cultures and policies in the
U.S. As a result, we will explore the legal history of racism, examine its current method of
functioning, and strive to grasp the factors contributing to its resilience to reform.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students will be able to historically and legally analyze facts and apply
relevant laws in which race, the law, and the administration of justice intersect. This includes:
Racism and African Americans; Racism & Native Americans; Racism & Latinos; Racism &
Asian Americans; Racism and Muslin ms; Birthright Citizenship; Public School Integration
Issues; Affirmative Action; Fair Employment; Racism and the Criminal Justice System; and
Property Rights Barriers.
Upon completing this course, students will be able to address and answer complex issues and
important questions such as:
• What is the legal and social history of the term "race"?
• How did slavery impact our legal history?
• What is legal positivism within the context of race and the law?
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• What are the leading 19th and 20th century cases and laws that impacted the construction of
race and racism?
• How did these laws impact African American families, masculinity and feminism?
• How did these laws impact popular, social and political notions of race?
• What did Jim Crow laws entail?
• What are the leading cases and laws that impacted Native Americans?
• What are the leading cases and laws that impacted Latinos?
• What are the leading cases and laws that impacted Asian Americans?
• How is birthright citizenship legally defined, and how might it reflect bias?
• What did the Voting Rights Act entail and how is it legally constructed today?
• What are affirmative action's legal underpinnings? How is affirmative action constructed
today?
• What were the leading cases that dismantled legalized segregation in public schools? How are
these cases constructed today?
• What is the legal history of race and the administration of justice in courts? How is this history
relevant today?
• What is employment discrimination? Which laws govern it?
Skills Objectives
Upon completing this course, students will acquire the following practical skills:
·Ability to analyze a race and the law matter.
·Ability to interview a client on a race and the law matter.
·Ability to prioritize issues in a race and the law matter.
·Ability to determine whether to seek temporary relief.
·Ability to collaborate with peers on case strategy.
·Ability to prepare and present a professional demonstration on a race and the law matter.
REQUIRED TEXTS
1. Title: "Race, Racism, and American Law," Sixth Edition
Author: Derrick A. Bell
Publisher: Aspen Publishers (2008)
ISBN13: 9780735575745
2. Title: "Race Law Stories"
Authors: Rachel Moran & Devon Carbado (Editors)
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Publisher: Foundation Press (2008)
ISBN-13: 978-1599410012
3. Title: "Beloved"
Author: Toni Morrison
Publisher: Vintage (2004)
ISBN-13: 978-1400033416
Recommended Books
Title: "White by Law: The Legal Construction of Race," Paperback – Deluxe Edition, (October
1, 2006)
Author: Ian Haney López
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN-10: 0814736947
ISBN-13: 978-0814736944
Title: "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" Paperback
(January 16, 2012)
Author: Michelle Alexander
Publisher: New Press
ISBN-10: 1595586431
ISBN-13: 978-1595586438
REQUIRED FILMS
In Class: "Race: The Power of An Illusion;" "Lost in Detention;" "The Trail of Tears;" "Murder
on a Sunday Morning;" "Incident at Oglala;" "Slavery By Another Name;" "Farmingville;" "ChiRaq;" and several PBS documentaries.
Video Clips and News Items: To be Determined
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
* Preparation of weekly assignments as set forth in the syllabus and/or posted on TWEN.
* Weekly attendance and class participation. If you are tardy or unprepared, you will be marked
absent.
* 1 Class Presentation per student on that week's reading, film, and/or assigned hypothetical.
Students' presentations should: be 30 to 45 minutes long; include visual aids (I.e., Power Point;
Prezi; Video clips; etc.); review and analyze the assigned reading; engage students' participation;
and can include creative elements (I.e., mock trials; mock interviews; skits; music; poetry; etc.). I
will post a list containing each student's class presentation assignment as soon as the class roster
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is finalized. Student presentations will not be graded. Each presentation will serve as a
completion grade. Accordingly, if your presentation was satisfactory, I will not contact you. If
your presentation was unsatisfactory, I will email you and ask you to add/improve your
presentation.
* Students must email me their presentation no later than 1 week after their presentation.
*Proactive reading of the news, injecting it into weekly discussions, and posting relevant news
items on TWEN's Current Events Forum.
*Each student must post a relevant news item on TWEN's Current Events Forum at least twice
during the course.
*Given the topics that this course will cover, you are each responsible to engender a safe and
respectful milieux, where all views are safe and welcomed. Accordingly, mutual respect and
professionalism are mandatory. If a classmate is speaking, I expect each of you to actively and
quietly listen to what is being discussed. Simultaneous discussions, while someone is speaking is
unacceptable. If you wish to add to the discussion or counter any points raised, you are
encouraged to do so by raising your hand and waiting for your turn.
* Final Paper: Due July 20th, 2016. Specific questions will be posted on TWEN 1 month
before the last day of class. You will need to choose 2 of the questions and write a critical legal
analysis for each question that relies on the assigned reading, in-class films, class discussions,
and students' presentations. Your final paper must be 10 to 12 pages long, double-spaced, and
use Times Roman font. Each page must be numbered and must include your exam number.
Final papers submitted after July 20th, 2016 will be subject to a full grade deduction for each
day that it is tardy. Further final paper instructions will be posted on TWEN.
*Your final grade for this course will be based upon the following:
*Class Participation and Presentation
Note: If you do not participate in class sufficiently, either when I
call on you or when you volunteer to participate, I reserve the
option to adjust your final grade by decreasing it by half a grade
(I.e., from a B to a B-, or from a C to a C-).
*Final Paper: 100% of raw score grade.
Class Preparation and Attendance Requirement
Attendance, preparation, and professionalism are mandatory. Students are expected to attend
each class and arrive (and sit down with books and laptops already on)
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before the lecture begins, prepared to discuss all assigned materials, which will be
announced and posted at the end of the previous week. This includes cases, articles,
exercises and problems within the assigned pages. If you are tardy or unprepared, you will be
marked absent.
You are limited to two (2) absences, no excuse required. Any absences after that must be
excused. If you attend fewer than 80% of the classes, no matter the reason, you will be dropped
automatically from the course and will be administratively assigned a grade of “F” for the
course. Please see the Student Handbook for more detailed information.
Class Participation
Because the success of this course depends on the quality of class discussion, you are expected to
participate in general class discussions. I will call on students at random each class period. If
you are called on and you are not prepared for that class, you will be marked absent.
Come prepared to also inject the class discussion with a relevant news item.
Meeting the Upper Level Writing Requirement
Approved students may use this course to meet the College of Law's Upper Level Writing
Requirement (ULWR). The ULWR is akin to a doctoral thesis. This obligates me to apply stricter
guidelines, stricter grading, and a higher level of analysis in accordance with the College of
Law's requirements.
As a result, meeting the ULWR vis-a-vis this course will entail the following:
1. Extensive external legal research (that does not include course materials) on an innovative
topic relevant to this course. External research must include substantive legal primary and
secondary sources that have been thoroughly shepherdized.
2. Key points that are legally substantiated and cited. A citation with merely one source usually
does not suffice to substantiate a point. Usually, key citations require a string of legal cases
and secondary sources that have been shepherdized;
3. In-depth critical reading of numerous primary and secondary sources;
4. Citations that adhere to the Bluebook.
5. Meeting key deadlines for submitting your paper topic, working bibliography, and outline.
See below.
6. Meet with me online or in person to discuss your paper topic (after June 8th).
7. Adhering to formatting requirements to be posted on TWEN.
8. Writing a paper that is at least 25 pages of content that provides in-depth analyses and
counter-analyses that parallel COL requirements for a Juris Doctor.
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Upper Level Writing Requirement Deadlines
1. June 1st, 2016: Submit a one-page summary of your paper topic (via email or after class).
2. June 22nd, 2016: Submit a one or two-page working outline of your paper (via email or after
class).
3. June 29th, 2016: Submit a working bibliography.
4. July 20th, 2016: Submit the final copy of your paper (in person, after class).
Policy Statement on Non-Discrimination
It is the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University’s policy to assure that each member of
the University community be permitted to work or attend classes in an environment free from
any form of discrimination including race, religion, color, age, disability, sex, marital status,
orientation, national origin, veteran status and sexual harassment as prohibited by state and
federal statutes.
Academic Honor Code
Each student is expected to adhere to the University’s and the College of Law’s (COL) honor
code. The University's Academic Honor Policy is located in the FANG Student Handbook. The
COL’s honor code is located in the COL’s Student Handbook.
ADA Compliance
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), please advise the Dean of
Student Services of accommodations you require to ensure participation in this course.
Documentation of a disability is required and should be submitted to the Learning Development
and Evaluation Center (LDEC). For additional information please contact the LDEC at (850)
599-3180.
If you need special accommodations, please contact the Dean of Students’ Office immediately.
Professionalism and Mutual Respect
Tardiness will not be tolerated, as it is rude and distracting to both your classmates and your
professor. If you walk in after I start class, you are tardy. If you arrive late, you will be deemed
ABSENT and will be required to leave the classroom.
In an effort to engender civility and an open academic arena that allows for diverse opinions,
mutual respect in class is mandatory (as previously stated). Accordingly, please be mindful that
there are people who may not share your world view, but deserve their say and your respect.
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Electronic Devices
Upon entering the classroom, please make sure your phones turned off and put away. Unless
you receive special permission, vibrate or other “silent” modes for telephones are not
permissible. Laptops, netbooks, and tablets will be allowed only for taking class notes.
Students are not permitted to be online during the entire class. Any person caught or
suspected of using their tablet or laptop for any other purpose (other than for taking class notes)
will be marked absent for the day and will no longer be allowed to bring a laptop, netbook or
tablet to the classroom.
Emergencies
In the event of an emergency, please contact me or Ms. Evett Collins, my Program Assistant, to
make arrangements in advance and to schedule an extended due date for your final paper.
Her contact information is: [email protected] (Tel.: 407-254-3264).
Reading Assignments
Week
Reading
Week 1
Introduction & Film: "Race: The Power of An
Illusion" (Part 1)
Weeks 2
Race & American History I
Bell, Chapters 1 & 2 (including hypos on p. 17 &
69); and take Implicit Bias Test:
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/user/agg/
blindspot/indexrk.htm
"Race: The Power of An Illusion" (Part 2)
Week 3
Race & American History II
Morrison, "Beloved"
Moran (RLS) Chapter 2
Weeks 4
Racism & Native Americans
Bell, pp. 683-701;
RLS, Chapter 1; "Incident At Oglala" (in class
film); & Peltier folder on TWEN
Weeks 5
Birthright, Citizenship & Multiracialism
Bell, pp. 719-732
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RLS, Chapter 3, 5 & 6
Films: "Lost in Detention" & "Farmingville"
Weeks 6
Race Neutrality & Quest For Effective Schools
RLS, Chapters 9 & 10; Bell, Chapter 3;
Bell Hypos, p. 111 & p. 117; & White By Law
Week 7
Fair Employment Laws
Bell, pp. 149-226
Week 8
Discrimination in the Administration of
Justice: Bell, pp. 229-264; Bell hypo p. 264; & Film:
"Murder on a Sunday Morning"; "The New Jim Crow;" and
the Black Lives Matter Movement.
Week 9
Voting Rights, Current Presidential Campaign; & LGBT
Parallels.
1. Bell, Chapter 6
2. Shelby v. Holder 811 F.Supp.2d 424 (2011)
3. Oral Argument: http://www.supremecourt.gov/
oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/12-96.pdf
http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/shelbycounty-v-holder/
4. Brennan Center's Amicus Brief: http://www.bren
nancenter.org/legal-work/shelby-county-v-holder-amicus-brief
5.Prof. Broussard's Amicus Brief: http://www.ameri
canbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/supreme_
court_preview/briefs-v2/12-96_resp_amcu_ppabetal.authcheckdam.pdf
Week 10
Property Barriers & Public Facilities
Bell, Chapters 7 & 9; & Bell hypos, pp. 423 & 443
Week 11
Review
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