Center for Racial and Economic Justice

About the Center for Racial and Economic Justice

The Center for Racial and Economic Justice (CREJ) works to advance equity through legal education, scholarship and collaboration. CREJ enriches UC Hastings Law by providing our intellectual community with access to nationally renowned thinkers on issues of racial and economic inequality and the space to critically examine how the law reinforces subordination.

CREJ’s three primary avenues for achieving its mission are:

1. Reframing conventional doctrinal course instruction by situating cases and jurisprudence within a historical and structural context of racism and inequality;

2. Convening scholars and practitioners to disseminate information and facilitate dialogue on issues of racial and economic injustice; and

3. Coordinating course offerings and other educational opportunities that center critical perspectives of race, identity, and inequity through which UC Hastings students develop a deeper understanding of the complexities of racism and subordination.

Faculty Directors

Alina Ball

Professor of Law

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Shauna Marshall

The Honorable Raymond L. Sullivan Professor of Law

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Program Information

Black Hastings Speaks is a project of the UC Hastings Center for Racial and Economic Justice (CREJ). The series is modeled after the StoryCorps podcasts and aims to preserve and present, with dignity, authentic stories of Black experiences within the UC Hastings community.

Oral narrative and rhetoric were long the primary means of preserving history and cultural information among Black people in the United States, as Black written language was illegal for more than 250 years. In response to the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, this series pays homage to the rich oral traditions of African Americans, as we seek to foster healing, build connections, encourage systemic change, and deepen empathy on issues of anti-Blackness.

Each episode, you will hear interviews and discussions between the college’s Black community members. Participants candidly share perspectives on a variety of topics, including identity and their personal experiences.

Asian Pacific Americans and the Law
Critical Race Theory
Race, Racism, and American Law
Constitutional History: Race and Civil Rights
Social Enterprise & Economic Empowerment Clinic
Immigrants’ Rights Clinic
Gender and the Law
Civil Rights Theory and Practicum
Employment Discrimination
Community Economic Development Seminar
Individual Representation Clinic
Community Group Advocacy & Social Change Lawyering Clinic

PLEDGE FOR WHITE AMERICANS
by Dr. Raygine DiAquoi and Dr. Nicole Arlette Hirsch

I pledge to fulfill the American promise of life, liberty and justice for all. I pledge to do the work of racial justice:

I pledge to speak up when I see racial harms.
I pledge to follow the lead of Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) in the quest to dismantle white supremacy.
I pledge to interrogate my socialization into a society that privileges whiteness.
I pledge to not weaponize my whiteness when it is convenient.
I pledge to not burden people of color, who may be grieving, with my need for comfort or knowledge after instances of racial violence or injustice.
I pledge to seek intersectional, anti-racist resources within my community to learn about our racial history and racial present.
I pledge to have hard conversations about racial inequities with other white people of all ages.
I pledge to vote responsibly, locally and nationally.
I pledge to devote time, money or other resources to anti-racist organizations, efforts and campaigns.