The Florida Law Schools’ Consortium for Racial Justice (FLSCRJ)
About
The Florida Law Schools’ Consortium for Racial Justice (FLSCRJ) manifests each of the law schools’ commitment to racial justice and aims to draw on the strengths and educational roles of every law school in the state to assist community organizations fighting for racial justice and policy reform throughout Florida. The law schools stand against bigotry and racism and seek to act in concrete ways to make the state of Florida more just for all.
How it works
Each law school will designate at least one student fellow to work with FLSCRJ every year. The fellows will collaborate with groups in Florida that have long pursued anti-racism initiatives. The law schools’ current partners, including community foundations, non-profit groups, law firms, businesses, policy s, art collectives, advocacy groups, educational entities, and bar associations will help the consortium identify three or four specific projects on which the student fellows will focus on each year. The consortium also welcomes other interested organizations.
Examples of possible initiatives include changes to the process by which juveniles are charged as adults and ensuring Black-owned businesses have access to loans and state contracts, among many other possibilities. Law student fellows will assist FLSCRJ’s partners with legal research, policy reform, strategic advocacy, and ways to use language to resolve conflicts and improve society at large. Fellows will also undergo tailored training to model effective dialogue about race within each law school and across the state as a whole.
Finally, FLSCRJ will partner with scholars interested in researching the legacies of Slavery and Jim Crow in Florida and their lingering vestiges today.
Projects
The Racial Justice Inventory Project
The roles of the Racial Justice Inventory Project include notating and documenting participation of all of the law schools in the State of the Florida with the consortium. The committee will detect any trends of racial justice in the State of Florida through analysis of data from all the participating law schools within the consortium.
The Legislative Advocacy Project
The Legislative Advocacy Project focuses on investigating the racial impact of legislation that has been enacted or rejected in the State of Florida through analysis of past and current legislation and the legislative process. The project entails analysis of not only legislation, or the legislative process, it also includes examining Florida law makers, to include representatives and senators, and their impact on racial justice. The project uses the data provided on both the laws and law makers to foster more civic engagement throughout the community.
The Racial Legal History Project
An examination and overview of racially motivated/discriminatory legislation (and legal frameworks) in the state of Florida. The Legal History Project tracks the progression from the Antebellum period up to the present day of the legal and extralegal methods by which the state has employed systemic and structural methods of racial control.
Governance
Maintain oversight over press releases and over communication with the public whether it be to members of the news media for the purpose of providing information, official statements, announcements, or any other forms of communication. The project entails structuring mission statement, vision statement, and values of the consortium. In addition, the project consists of structuring bylaws formulated from the mission and expectations of the consortium to support consistency as well as resolve any potential disputes.
Incorporating Race Into The Law School Curriculum
View the document by clicking the button below.
Events
FLSCRJ formal launch and panel, “Civil Rights Litigation and Coalition Building in the 21st Century Forum,” featuring Michele Rayner-Goolsby, who represents District 70 in the Florida House and is one of the first openly LGBTQ women of color elected to Florida’s Legislature, and Jotaka L. Eaddy, the founder and CEO of Full Circle Strategies, LLC, a social impact consulting firm committed to advancing transformative change and global impact.
Civil Rights Litigation and Coalition Building in the 21st Century