Letter Honoring Derrick Bell

AN OPEN LETTER FROM LAW PROFESSORS AND LAWYERS IN SUPPORT OF PROFESSOR DERRICK BELL

March 28, 2012

As lawyers and law professors whose work and lives have been enriched by the late Professor Derrick A. Bell, Jr., we add our voices to the many who have paid tribute to him since his passing in October 2011.

Professor Bell’s contributions as a civil rights attorney, prolific legal scholar, and dedicated teacher have been noted in memorials held across the country.  Born in 1930, Derrick Bell was the first in his family to attend college.  After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh law school, where he was the only African-American student in his class and was elected as an associate editor-in-chief of the Law Review.

Throughout his career, Professor Bell labored to break race and gender barriers that remain pervasive in American society.  In the late 1950’s, Derrick Bell became one of the few Black attorneys at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, but was forced out because he refused to give up his membership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).  He was later hired by Thurgood Marshall and spent six years with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, overseeing hundreds of desegregation cases.

In 1969, Derrick Bell was hired by Harvard Law School and in 1971 he became Harvard’s first tenured Black law professor.   As one of the first Black deans of a U.S. law school, from 1980-1986 he served as Dean of the University of Oregon Law School, a position from which he resigned because the faculty refused to hire an Asian-American woman.  Upon returning to Harvard Law School, Professor Bell supported the student protests over the law school’s lack of African-American women faculty, eventually leaving Harvard for that reason.  His dignified protest and personal sacrifice made the need to integrate legal education a national issue and changed the face of the legal academy and the law school classroom to include people of color.  For the next two decades, until his death, he continued to write and teach at New York University School of Law.

Professor Bell was passionate and creative in the classroom, an energetic and devoted teacher and mentor through the last weeks of his life.  As New York University School of Law Dean Richard Revesz wrote in his recent tribute, “Derrick instilled in his students a deep sense of professional and ethical responsibility and encouraged them to confront complex issues of race and difference.”  Professor Bell authored Race, Racism and American Law, a popular law school textbook now in its sixth edition, and many other groundbreaking books and articles.  His unflinching articulation of the intertwining of race and law in American history—as well as his recognition of the importance of incorporating lived experience into legal scholarship—laid the foundation for the now widely-taught subject of critical race theory. His creative use of narratives, such as his allegories, created opportunities for the cultivation of dissent through the airing and sharing of differing experiences and views.

Professor Bell was an advocate for women’s rights, gay rights, and disability rights long before these were popular causes.  Most notably, perhaps, Professor Bell did all of this with great love.  He was a gentle, soft-spoken, deeply spiritual man who showed us that we retain our humanity through our relationships with each other, even those with whom we disagree.   He not only stood on principle and spoke the truth as he saw it, but encouraged everyone to speak his or her truth.  And he would support and defend those who were attacked for acting with the courage of their convictions.   Professor Bell was also a committed family man – a devoted husband and proud father of three sons.  He mentored and embraced hundreds of others, from all walks of life.

In his honor, we too act on the courage of our convictions.  We invite lawyers and law professors throughout the nation to sign this Open Letter in support of Professor Bell’s legacy as a highly respected colleague, advocate and mentor.  We disavow any efforts to discredit Professor Bell, to malign his character, or to mischaracterize his contributions. We recognize Derrick Bell as a great champion of equality for all Americans. We honor 1his legacy and the example he provided of a life fully and courageously lived.

Our signatures below express solidarity with an eminent scholar who advanced legal thinking, teaching and advocacy.  We encourage those who read this letter to continue Professor Bell’s quest for social justice and equality.  To learn more about our remarkable colleague, to read additional tributes, and to support his family’s request to endow the Derrick Bell Lecture Series on Race in American Society at New York University School of Law, please visit www.professorderrickbell.com.

Signed by:*

Lisa Boykin, Esq.

Cheryl Nelson Butler, SMU Dedman School of Law

Kathleen Neal Cleaver, Emory University School of Law

Sherrilyn Ifill, University of Maryland School of Law

Suzette M. Malveaux, Catholic University, Columbus School of Law

Margaret Montoya, University of New Mexico School of Law & Health Sciences Center

Natsu Taylor Saito, Georgia State University College of Law

Nareissa L Smith, North Carolina Central University School of Law

Tanya Washington, Georgia State University College of Law

*Institutional affiliations listed for identification purposes only.

Individual Signatories
Name                                                                     Institution¨		Law School¨
SpearIt Saint Louis University Upendra Acharya Gonzaga Law School Muneer Ahmad Yale Law School Adjoa Aiyetoro UALR Bowen School of Law & Institute on Race and Ethnicity Raquel Aldana Pacific McGeorge School of Law Barbara Aldave University of Oregon School of Law Deleso Alford FAMU College of Law Alicia Alvarez University of Michigan Adell Amos University of Oregon School of Law Anthony Amsterdam New York University School of Law Angelo Ancheta Santa Clara University Ruby Andrew Southern University Law Center Claudia Angelos NYU Law Michele Anglade FIU – College of Law Fran Ansley University of Tennessee College of Law Deborah Archer New York Law School Fabio Arcila, Jr. Touro Law Center Gabriel Arkles NYU School of Law Elvia Arriola Northern Illinois University Michael Avery Suffolk Law School Sahar Aziz Texas Wesleyan School of Law Kimberly Bailey Chicago-Kent College of Law Shalanda Baker William H. Hastie Fellow, University of Wisconsin Law School W. David Ball Santa Clara Law School Clinton Bamberger University of Maryland Taunya Banks University of Maryland Lorraine Bannai Seattle UniversitySchool of Law Margaret Barry Vermont Law School Robert Batey Stetson University College of Law Felice Batlan IIT/Chicago-Kent Steven Bender Seattle University School of Law Leslie Bender Syracuse University College of Law Emily Benfer Loyola University Chicago School of Law Barbara Bernier FAMU Kama Bethel Pierce Charlotte School of Law Brian Bix University of Minnesota Beryl Blaustone CUNY School of Law John Bonine University of Oregon Cynthia Bowman Cornell Law School Ronald Brand University of Pittsburgh Brenda Bratton Blom University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Ralph Brill Chicago Kent College of Law Tonya Brito University of Wisconsin Law School Linda Broessel Cardozo Teresa Bruce University of Denver College of Law Regina F. Burch Capital University Law School John Burkoff University of Pittsburgh Nancy Burkoff University of Pittsburgh School of Law Tricia Bushnell University of Wisconsin Law School paul butler George Washington University Law School Patricia Cain Santa Clara Law Paulette Caldwell New York University School of Law Ann Cammett Boyd School of Law, UNLV Camille Lamar Campbell Nova Southeastern University John J. Capowski Widener University School of Law Susan Carle American University Washington College of Law Gilbert Carrasco Willamette University College of Law Kim D. Chanbonpin The John Marshall Law School Robert Chang Seattle University School of Law Constinia Charbonnette West Virginia University Alan Chen University of Denver Sturm College of Law Nina Chernoff NYU April Cherry Cleveland Marshall College of Law Gabriel Chin University of California, Davis, School of Law Carol Chomsky University of Minnesota Law School Neil Cogan Whittier Law School Marjorie Cohn Thomas Jefferson School of Law Douglas L. Colbert Maryland Liz Ryan Cole Vermont Law School Frank Rudy Cooper Suffolk University Law School Elizabeth Cooper Fordham University School of Law Sacha Coupet Loyola University Chicago School of Law Marva Coward Marquette University School of Law Michael Coyne Massachusetts School of Law Phyliss Craig-Taylor Charlotte School of Law Shelaswau Crier Willamette University College of Law Lisa Crooms Howard University School of Law Jane Cross Nova Southeastern University Mary Crossley University of Pittsburgh School of Law Patience Crowder University of Denver Sturm College of Law Patience Crowder Univ. of Denver Sturm College of Law Tucker Culbertson Syracuse University College of Law andre douglas pond cummings West Virginia University College of Law Andrea Curcio Georgia State University College of Law Sharam Dana John Marshall Law School – Chicago Nicole Dandridge Michigan State University College of Law Gloria Danziger University of Baltimore School of Law Marcella David The University of Iowa College of Law Benjamin Davis University of Toledo College of Law Peter Davis Touro Law Center T. J. Davis Arizona State University, History Connie de la Vega University of San Franciso Frank Deale CUNY Law School John Denvir USF Law School Meera Deo Thomas Jefferson School of Law John DeWitt-Gregory Mauarice A. Dean School of Law at Hostra University Amy Dillard University of Baltimore School of Law Jessica Dixon Weaver SMU Dedman School of Law David Dominguez Brigham Young University Norman Dorsen NYU Mary Dudziak USC Gould School of Law Daniel J. Dye Phoenix School of Law Jessica Eaglin California Western Law Malik Edwards Charlotte School of Law Beth Eisler University of Toledo College of Law Anne Emanuel Georgia State University College of Law Garrett Epps Profess, University of Baltimore Bryan K. Fair University of Alabama Michael Fakhri University of Oregon School of Law Edward A. Fallane Marquette University School of Law John Farago CUNY Law School Anthony Paul Farley Albany Law School Ian Farrell Denver University Sturm College of Law Zanita Fenton University of Miami Caroline Forell University of Oregon Mary Louise Frampton Berkeley Law Ruben Garcia UNLV Law Marsha Garrison Brooklyn Law School Frederick Mark Gedicks Brigham Young University Law School Angela Gilmore North Carolina Central University School of Law Brian Gilmore Michigan State University College of Law Rashmi Goel University of Denver College of Law Suzanne Goldberg Columbia Law School Placido Gomez Phoenix School of Law Jasmine Gonzales Rose University of Pittsburgh Marc-Tizoc González St. Thomas University School of Law Thalia González Occidental College Victor Goode CUNY Law School Leigh Goodmark University of Baltimore Ruth Elizabeth Gordon Villanova University School of Law Neil Gotanda Western State College of Law Joseph Karl Grant Capital University School of Law Michael Z. Green Texs Wesleyan University School of Law Linda Sheryl Greene University of Wisconsin Law School Wendy Greene Cumberland School of Law K.J. Greene Thomas Jefferson School of Law Catherine Grosso Michigan State University College of Law Martin Guggenheim NYU School of Law Kaaryn Gustafson University of Connecticut School of Law Phoebe Haddon University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law Gail Hammer Gonzaga University School of Law Ian Haney Lopez UC Berkeley School of Law Joseph Harbaugh Nova Southeastern Law Center Vinay Harpalani Seattle University School of Law Angela Harris University of California, Davis Bernadette Hartfield Georgia State University College of Law Emily Hartigan St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio Stacy Hawkins Rutgers School  of Law – Camden Michael Hayes University of Baltimore Lynne henderson UNLV-Boyd School of Law Taja-Nia Henderson NYU School of Law Tanya Hernandez Fordham Law School Ernesto Hernandez-Lopez Chapman University School of Law David Herring University of Pittsburgh Michael Higginbotham University of Baltimore Bill Hing University of San Francisco Cynthia Ho Loyola University of Chicgao Stephen Hobbs Univ. of Alabama School of Law Candice Hoke Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Joan Howarth Michigan State University College of Law K. Babe Howell CUNY School of Law Joyce A. Hughes Northwestern University School of Law Kent Hull Notre Dame Law School Richard Humphrey Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law Lisa Ikemoto UC Davis School of Law Areto Imoukhuede Nova Southeastern Univ. Law Center Anthony Infanti University of Pittsburgh School of Law David Jaros University of Baltimore School of Law Peter Jaszi American University Jelani Jefferson Exum Univ. of Toledo College of Law Jalila Jefferson-Bullock Phoenix School of Law Jamila Jefferson-Jones Barry Univ. School of Law Mar Jimeno-Bulnes Chicago-Kent College of Law Danne Johnson Oklahoma City University Margaret Johnson University of Baltimore School of Law Conrad Johnson Columbia University School of Law Laura Johnson University of Oregon School of Law Paula C. Johnson Syracuse University College of Law Dennis Jones West Virginia University Beto Juárez University of Denver Sturm College of Law Ann Juergens William Mitchell College of Law David Kairys Temple University Sylvia Kangara University of Washington School of Law Eileen Kaufman Touro Law Center Lisa Kelly University of Washington walter j  (jerry) kendall lll john marshall law school Jenn Kim University of Baltimore School of Law J.D, King Washington and Lee University School of Law Karl Klare Northeastern University School of Law Richard Klein Touro Law School Catherine Klein Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America Angela Mae Kupenda Mississippi College School of Law Margaret B. Kwoka John Marshall Law School – Chicago Robert Lancaster Louisiana State University Brian Landsberg Pacific McGeorge Lundy Langston Florida A & M College of Law Christopher Lasch University of Denver Sturm College of Law Rogelio Lasso John Marshall Law School Inga Laurent Gonzaga School of Law Sylvia Law NYU Law Charles Lawrence University of Hawaii Stephen Lazarus Cleveland-Marshall Col. of Law Brant Lee University of Akron School of Law Cynthia Lee The George Washington University Law School Jaime Lee University of Baltimore Arthur Leonard New York Law School Carrie Leonetti University of Oregon School of Law Nancy Leong Univ of Denver Law School Mark Levin Univ. Of Hawaii David Levine Univ of California, Hastings Lawrence Levine Pacific McGeorge Evelyn Lewis UC Davis School of Law Hope Lewis Northeastern University School of Law Jules Lobel University of Pittsburgh Law School Stephen Loffredo CUNY School of Law Cortney Lollar Washington University School of Law Guadalupe Luna Northern Illinois University College of Law Sheldon Lyke Northwestern University School of Law Beth Lyon Villanova School of Law Rhonda Magee University of San Francisco Holly Maguigan New York University School of Law Tayyab Mahmud Seattle University School of Law Pedro A. Malavet The University of Florida Levin College of Law Solangel Maldonado Seton Hall Law School Daniel Manville Michigan State University Law College Deborah Maranville University of Washington Terry Maroney Vanderbilt University Law School Andrea McArdle City University of New York School of Law Amy McCormick Michigan State University College of Law Robert McCormick Michigan State University College of Law Audrey McFarlane University of Baltimore School of Law Henry W. McGee, Jr. Seattle University School of Law Karla Mckanders University of Tennessee Laura McNeal Harvard Law Beverly McQueary Smith Touro Law Center M Isabel Medina Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Miguel Mendez UC Davis Law School Vanessa Merton Pace University School of Law Kris Miccio Sturm College of Law, University of Denver Frank Michelman Harvard Law School Alison Mikkor NYU School of Law Elliott Milstein American University Washington College of Law S. David Mitchell University of Missouri Michael Moffitt University of Oregon School of Law Melinda S. Molina Capital University Law School James Mooney Univ of Oregon Francis J. Mootz III University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law Adele Morrison Wayne State University Law School Loren Mulraine Belmont Univ. College of Law Kali Murray Marquette University School of Law Sheldon Nahmod Chicago-Kent College of Law Smita Narula NYU School of Law Odeana Neal University of Baltimore School of Law Eboni Nelson University of South Carolina School of Law Elizabeth Nevins NYU Kenneth Nunn University of Florida James O’Fallon University of Oregon Paul O’Neil [former prof, now] Human Rights in China Kimberly OLeary Thomas M. Cooley Law School David Oppenheimer Berkeley (Boalt Hall) Nancy Ota Albany Law School Margie Paris University of Oregon Elizabeth Patterson Georgetown University Law Center Elizabeth Patterson Georgetown University Law Center Juan Perea Loyola University Chicago Justin Pidot University of Denver Sturm College of Law John Pierre Southern University Law Center Rhonda Pierre Cato FAMU College of Law Victoria Plaut Berkeley Law Ellen Podgor Stetson University College of Law Randle Pollard Widener University School of Law James Polshek Columbia Law School James Pope Rutgers Law School – Newark Cesar F. Posado Chicago Kent College of Law Cedric Merlin Powell University of Louisville Carla Pratt Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law Eric Priest University of Oregon School of Law Intisar Rabb New York University School of Law Hon. John T. Racanelli (Ret.) UCHastings College/Law Joy Radice NYU Law Steven A. Ramirez Loyola University Chicago Sarah Redfield University of New Hampshire Maritza Reyes Florida A&M University College of Law Paula R Rhodes University of Denver Sturm College of Law L. Song Richardson University of Iowa College of Law Dean Richardson Willamette University College of Law Judy Ritter Widener Dorothy Roberts Northwestern University School of Law Mildred Wigfall Robinson University of Virginia School of Law Ruthann Robson City University of New York School of Law Harold O.M. Rocha University of Wisconsin Jorge Roig Charleston School of Law Florence Roisman Indiana U. Robert H. McKinney School of Law Ediberto Roman Florida International University Tom Romero, II University of Denver Sturm College of Law Mary Romero, Ph.D. Justice Studies, Arizona State University Howard Rosenberg Sturm College of Law Thomas Ross University of Pittsburgh Denise Roy William Mitchell College of Law Margaret M. Russell Santa Clara University School of Law Susan Rutberg Golden Gate Law Kenneth Salzberg Hamline Mindy Sanchez Charlotte School of Law Michael Satz University of Idaho College of Law Elizabeth M. Schneider Brooklyn Law School Michael Selmi George Washington University Law School Michael Seng The John Marshall Law School Rachel Settlage Wayne State Law School Peter Shane Ohio State University Daniel Sharfstein Vanderbilt University Law School Katherine C Sheehan Southwestern Law School Teri Shugart Santa Clara Law Nancy Shurtz University of Oregon Jessica Silbey Suffolk University Law School Lahny Silva Indiana University – McKinney Marjorie Silver Touro Law Center Risa Sisco University of Oregon Peggie Smith Washington Univ. School of Law (St. Louis) Andre Smith Widener Law School Catherine Smith University of Denver, Sturm College of Law Norman Stein Drexel University Eleanor Stein Albany Law School Joan Steinman Chicago-Kent College of Law, Ill. Inst. of Tech. Michele Storms University of Washington School of Law John Strait Seattle University School of Law Susan Sturm Columbia Law School M.D. Taracido M.D. Taracido George Taylor University of Pittsburgh School of Law M. Victoria Taylor Charlotte School of Law Keeva Terry Roger Williams University School of Law Dana Thompson University of Michigan Law School Arturo Torres Texas Tech University Enid Trucios-Haynes Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, University of Louisville Gloria Valencia-Weber University of New Mexico School of Law Pamela Vesilnd Vermont Law School dominick vetri Univ. of Oregon Law School Suzanne Villano Univ. of Miami Robin Walker Sterling University of Denver Sturm College of Law Lu-in Wang University of Pittsburgh Leland Ware University of Delaware Richard Warner Chicago-Kent College of Law Carlton Waterhouse Indiana Univ. Robert H. McKinney School of Law Lindsey Webb Denver Law School L. Darnell Weeden Texas Southern Univ. Thurgood Marshall School of Law Judith Wegner University of North Carolina Merle Weiner University of Oregon School of Law Alan Weinstein Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Hazel Weiser Society of American Law Teachers Deborah Weissman UNC School of Law Robert Westley Tulane Law School Frederic White Texas Wesleyan University School of Law Amy Widman Northern Illinois University College of Law Verna Williams University of Cincinnati College of Law Andrew Williams NYU School of Law Lucy Williams Northeastern University School of Law Neil G. Williams Loyola University Chicago Phoebe W. Williams Marquette University School of Law Anna Williams Shavers University of Nebraska Jim Wilson Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Darryl C. Wilson Stetson University College of Law Evelyn Wilson Southern University Law School Leah Wortham The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law eric wright Santa Clara University School of Law Larry Yackle Boston University Ellen Yaroshefsky Yeshiva University Cardozo School of Law Lua Kamal Yuille University of Wisconsin Law School Archie Zariski Athabasca University Candace Zierdt Stetson College of Law

Institutional Signatory

Society of American Law Teachers