Center for Racial and Economic Justice

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.

The following are Hastings courses that explicitly center issues of race and subordination in their examination of the law and legal systems.  This list is not exhaustive.  We encourage current students to consult the Course Catalog for additional offerings related to issues of racial and economic justice.

• American Indian Law
• American Legal Education: A Critical Examination
• Asian Pacific Americans and the Law
• Citizenism: Race and Immigration
• Citizenship and Equality: Interdisciplinary Perspectives
• Civil Rights Theory and Practicum
• Community Economic Development Seminar
• Community Group Advocacy & Social Change Lawyering Clinic
• Constitutional History: Race and Civil Rights
• Critical Race Theory
• Employment Discrimination
• Federal Indian Law
• Individual Representation Clinic
• Immigrants’ Rights Clinic
• Immigration Law
• Latinx and the Law
• Race, Racism, and American Law
• Race, Sexuality, and the Law
• Refugee and Human Rights Clinic
• Refugee Law & Policy
• Reproductive Justice
• Social Enterprise & Economic Empowerment Clinic
• Tribal Law

The Racial Muslim
The Center for Racial and Economic Justice and Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly welcome Professor of Law and Chancellor’s Social Justice Scholar, Sahar Aziz, in conversation with Professor Evelyn Rangel-Medina, to discuss her new book, The Racial Muslim: When Racism Quashes Religious Freedom, which explores the racialization of religion in the United States. Muslims have experienced a long history of exclusion and discrimination in the United States. For example, Muslims were formally ineligible for U.S. citizenship, which was historically reserved only for “free white persons.” Professor Aziz examines how religious freedom has always been racially circumscribed in the United States and explains why that context is significant to understanding contemporary events such as Trump’s “Muslim Ban” executive order.

Connecting the Threads that Bind: Contextualizing Legalized Violence Against Asian Americans
This one-day, virtual conference investigates systemic and historic causes of anti-AAPI violence, provides frameworks for understanding the continued subordination of AAPI and BIPOC communities, and discusses AAPI-led advocacy addressing the root causes of violence and disenfranchisement.  The conference features prominent scholars, critical race theorists, poets, activists, and movement lawyers from across the country working on issues related to AAPI violence, including Michael Omi, Lorraine Bannai, Shelley Lee, Khaled Beydoun, Vinay Harpalani, Carol Izumi, Deepa Iyer, Bill Tamayo, Eunice Lee, Stephen Lee, Ming Hsu Chen, Jason Wu, Cynthia Choi, Eddy Zheng, Zohra Ahmed, Michael Chang, Russell Leong, Julian Aguon, and Frank Wu.

From Prop 209 to Prop 16: Historical, Legal and Activist Perspectives on Affirmative Action
Californians have endured a statewide ban on race- and gender-based affirmative action policies since the passage of Proposition 209, which is widely recognized for its devastating impact on advancing racial justice in labor and education. In November 2020, Proposition 16 would have restored affirmative action in CA. This panel discusses the legacies of Proposition 209 and the promise Proposition 16 provided.

Racial Health Disparities: Economic Injustice as an Underlying Condition of Covid
COVID-19 has deeply affected communities of color, who are disproportionately essential workers and whose labor conditions and economic status constrain their ability to protect themselves and their families during the pandemic. Compounding these acute challenges are disproportionate rates of underlying health conditions which are connected to unequal social conditions over the lifespan, including poverty and racism. Panelists describe the evidence base linking economic and racial inequality to health inequity, the ways in which COVID compounds those longstanding inequities, and the role of law as both a positive and negative force in addressing them.

Racial Health Disparities: Police Violence as an Underlying Health Condition
The UCSF/UC Hastings Consortium along with the UC Hastings Center for Racial and Economic Justice are pleased to announce that part two of our Health Equity Webinar Series is now available as a recording. The event, “Racial Health Disparities: Police Violence as an Underlying Health Condition,” took place on Wednesday, January 13th via zoom, as a moderated panel discussion. Attendee questions are integrated into the discussion.