Overview
Summer 2024 Externship Opportunity
The Civil Rights and Restorative Justice (CRRJ) project, in partnership with the Southern University Law Center’s Louis A. Berry Institute of Civil Rights & Justice, is seeking to hire Southern University Law Center (SULC) students for its 2024 summer internship or SULC course credit by registering for the 2024 Summer Externship Course and completing its necessary requirements.
CRRJ, housed at Northeastern University School of Law, is the premier academic program in the country that examines current racial inequities through history and creative reparative justice. CRRJ investigates, publicizes, and remediates historical cases of racially motivated violence. It is currently building, and will soon publish, the most comprehensive archive in the country on these matters.
This year marks the 10th year of CRRJ’s partnership with SULC and we are seeking summer externs or interns to work June 4, 2024, through July 19, 2024. Students seeking externship credit may have alternative dates.
Selected externs or interns will engage in researching and redressing racially motivated homicides in the United States from the Jim Crow era. The docket comprises cold cases where the facts have not been developed. Students work with government documents and other archival materials; identify and interview parties of interest; and , where feasible, visit the region where the underlying events transpired. Students in the Summer 2024 externship or internship will investigate cases from Louisiana and Mississippi. Students will also develop restorative justice initiatives based on the cases, write essays, and present their findings to a panel of academics and practitioners.
Utilizing interdisciplinary approaches, students will meet to discuss twentieth century civil rights history and law with a focus on human rights and reparative justice.
Minimum Qualifications:
- Excellent communication skills;
- Strong writing skills;
- Ability to apply strong research techniques;
- Interest in the areas of Civil Rights, Social Justice, Criminal Justice Reform, or Policy Work.
Interested students should submit a transcript, resume, and cover letter to Director Ada Goodly Lampkin (ada.goodly@sulc.edu) and Project Manager John Collins (john.collins@sulc.edu). Candidates should state the number of course credits (4 hours, 12 hours, etc.) they will be enrolled in during the summer semester. Students that choose the externship option will be supervised by Attorney John Collins.
Empower Change Through Dialogue
Join us for "A Conversation on Delinquency" hosted by the Louis A. Berry Institute for Civil Rights & Justice at SULC and Someone Always Cares Foundation, A Youth Delinquency Prevention and Intervention Agency.
- Date: December 9, 2023
- Time: 11 AM - 2 PM
- Where: Rooms 129 and 130, Southern University Law School
- Speakers:
- Judge Gail Grover, East Baton Rouge Juvenile Court
- Deputy Chief Myron Daniels, Baton Rouge Police Department
- Ivory Wilson, M.A, LAC, CCDP-D, CCGD
Be prepared for an engaging dialogue on delinquency—an opportunity to ignite discussions, foster understanding, and explore innovative solutions. We're uniting experts, community leaders, and passionate individuals for a day of insights and inspiration.
Converge for A Conversation On Delinquency that transcends boundaries and fosters positive change. Reserve your spot by registering here.
An appeals court has struck down a key path for enforcing the Voting Rights Act
A recent federal appeals court decision has invalidated a crucial avenue for upholding the Voting Rights Act, potentially instigating a significant Supreme Court confrontation that might further restrict the Act's safeguards for people of color. The dispute centers on the interpretation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which historically allowed private individuals and groups to challenge practices that diminished the voting power of people of color, especially in redistricting cases. However, a ruling by U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky, upheld by a 2-1 vote by an Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals panel, determined that only the U.S. attorney general can initiate Section 2 lawsuits, dismissing an Arkansas redistricting case brought by advocacy groups representing Black voters. Judges in support argued that the assumption of private enforcement of Section 2 is unsubstantiated, while dissenting Judge Lavenski Smith emphasized the importance of citizens' ability to seek legal recourse for fundamental rights in a self-governing society. The potential escalation of this Arkansas case to the Supreme Court remains likely, shaping the future landscape of the Voting Rights Act's enforcement.
Source: NPR
Court gives Louisiana Legislature last chance to redraw congressional map
If the Louisiana Legislature wants to prevent a district court from changing its congressional map, it has until Jan. 15 to come up with a new redistricting plan, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
The decision comes after a district court found Louisiana’s congressional map was in violation of the Voting Rights Act. The map, which legislators redrew last year as part of a once-in-a-decade redistricting process, did not create a second majority-Black district.
That maintained Republicans’ 5-to-1 advantage and left one majority-Black district out of six in a state where Black residents make up nearly a third of the population.
After civil rights organizations challenged the map in court, federal Judge Shelly Dick ruled that Black Louisianans ought to have a chance at deciding who represents two congressional districts, or a third of the state’s seats.
Dick, who was nominated by President Barack Obama, was set to redraw the map, with a hearing on the matter scheduled for Feb. 5. But the state appealed the decision with the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has given the Legislature one last chance to do the job itself.
See full article by clicking here.
Our Vision |
Our Mission |
|
The Louis A. Berry Civil Rights and Justice Institute seeks to ensure the law center’s place as a center of excellence in social and restorative justice and civil and human rights research, advocacy, education, and instruction. It further seeks to pursue policy initiatives and judicial outcomes that promote equal rights and justice. | The Louis A. Berry Institute for Civil Rights and Justice is committed to the advancement of civil and human rights and social and restorative justice, especially in Louisiana and the South. | |
Civil Rights News
Professor Margaret Burnham Honored with Mass Humanities Governor’s Award
LASC Recognized as a National Leader in Reporting of Criminal Data to FBI NICS
Source: Louisiana Supreme Court