MY PERSONAL STRUGGLE WITH IMPOSTER SYNDROME As a queer person of color, it took me a long time to come to terms with my sexuality. Until recently, I was not proud of being gay; I was deeply ashamed of who I was. No matter what I accomplished in my life, my accomplishments were never good…
Year: 2021
Social Equity: Will the Cannabis Industry Choose to Overcome Its Lack of Diversity?
Image by Terre Di Cannabis from Pixabay. In the world of legal cannabis, a new phrase has taken over: Social Equity. What does this really mean? Social Equity in the cannabis industry is an attempt to level the playing field for individuals who were negatively impacted by the prohibition of cannabis. Long before the re-legalization…
Constitution-Free Zones: How the Fourth Amendment Rights of Americans are Violated at and Near the Border
A Not So “Welcome Home” on a Scorching Summer Drive Across the Border Imagine driving through miles upon miles of dry, barren, flat roads into Laredo, a border town in southern Texas, on a scorching hot August day. You are returning home after a long trip to Mexico. The car is packed with your belongings.…
Pray the Gay Away: Conversion Therapy, Suicide, Religion, and the First Amendment
Image by waldryano from Pixabay. Your sexuality is a result of your childhood abuse. You are only the person you are because your father was absent. If you had only had more male influence in your life, you would not be the person that you are, but it can be fixed. Perhaps you need God,…
Kicking Off National Arab American Heritage Month 2021
Source: Arab American Institute/Twitter. For Starters Throughout the month of April, the Golden Gate University Race, Gender, Sexuality, & Social Justice Law Journal will focus its lens on lifting up the Arab American community in celebration of National Arab American Heritage Month. More substantive posts will provide insight into how American law and society have both…
More Than a Hashtag: Why We Need to #ProtectBlackWomen in Real Life
The most disrespected person in America is the Black Woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black Woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black Woman.Malcolm X (1962) Photo by Stewart Munro on Unsplash. INTRODUCTION Social media campaigns will tell you to “Protect Black Women,” but rarely is there a serious…
Why we Should Provide More Support for Women of Color in Academia
Photo by Andre Hunter on Unsplash. My experience as a woman of color in higher education is not unique. In this piece, I will share my own story and discuss challenges women of color face to succeed in academia and how their absence in these spaces negatively affects the success of female students of color.…
What “Good” has Come from the “Good Faith” Exception?
A Wise Justice’s Forewarning Breonna Taylor at a graduation ceremony in Louisville, Kentucky. Source. In 1949, Justice Frank Murphy dissented in the case of Wolf v. Colorado, passionately defending the exclusionary rule. The forward-thinking justice, who was a leading advocate in the fight for racial equality, warned that only by exclusion can we ensure that…
Gregory Hodge on "Working for Racial Equality: Moving from Talk to Action with an Equity Agenda"
If, rather than view the video above, you prefer to listen to an audio recording of this event, you can do so at the bottom of this post or via Spotify or Apple Podcasts. On Thursday, February 25, 2021, GGU Presents, the GGU Race & Justice Task Force (RJTF), and the GGU’s Black Law Student…
Video Interview: Octavia Carson, Founder, Community Fund for Black Bar Applicants
The Community Fund for Black Bar Applicants was founded by Octavia Carson, J.D. a 2020 law school graduate. Its mission is to provide at least $500 to 100 Black bar exam applicants across the United States each year. This mission stems out of a desire to diversify the legal profession and raise the percentage of…