diverse hands raisedLast summer, partly inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, faculty from the 10 New York City-area law schools (Brooklyn, Columbia, CUNY, Fordham, Hofstra, New York, NYU, Pace, St. John's and Rutgers) came together to create the Law School Anti-Racism Consortium (LSARC).

This coalition of law school faculty, administrators, staff, students and alumni is committed to building an anti-racist culture and climate in law schools. LSARC works on many levels: we provide resources for law schools to: (1) support indigenous, Black and other students of color and alumni/ae through admissions, orientation, academics and classroom inclusivity, (2) identify, confront and explore the impact of racism on law with their students, faculty, administration and the larger community, and (3) center racial justice as a guiding principle and a concrete practice in every area of legal education and the legal profession.

The consortium kicked off last year with a two day (virtual) program aimed at introducing new concepts in creating an anti-racism climate. More than 300 people attended. Since last July, the Consortium has planned and continues to plan educational anti-racism panels for members of the law school community and share stories and techniques that address racism in the law school experience. We have created panels focused on helping faculty promote awareness and understanding of issues of racial equality and anti-racism in their classes, no matter the subject matter being taught. In addition, we are producing programs for administrators and staff in other areas of the law school such as those running admissions, orientation, student services and career development. Future goals of the consortium include running another large scale annual meeting in Fall 2021, increasing the membership within the law school community and engaging a larger share of law school alumni.