The Present and Future of Civil Rights Movements: Race and Reform in 21st Century America

In 2014, the nation marked the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Freedom Summer.  In 2015, we recognized the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  As we move forward in the 21st century, however, America finds itself at the beginning of a new era defined by its own set of civil rights struggles. The battles of 2015 are in some ways markedly different from those of the 1950s and 1960s, as “whites only” signs and overt displays of societally condoned racism are mostly relegated to history.  However, what remains is a country full of disparately impacted populations, with people of color facing disadvantages at home, at work, at school, and in the justice system, all in the context of a society that prides itself on its imagined march towards post-racial colorblindness.

A shifting landscape, however, simply means that the civil rights movements of the 21st century must also shift in line with modern realities. “The Present and Future of Civil Rights Movements: Race and Reform in 21st Century America” presents an opportunity for scholars, teachers, practitioners, and activists to engage with each other as they discuss their unique perspectives on inequalities throughout different facets of modern America.  In exploring today’s civil rights struggles, including the disproportionate imprisonment of populations of color, decreased access to housing, and persistent roadblocks to basic civic freedoms such as voting, this conference will provide an opportunity for those who recognize the persistent impact of systematic racism to reflect on the past and present in order to better inform the future.

Duke Law’s Center on Law, Race and Politics hosted a conference on November 20-21, 2015, bringing together scholars and experts to discuss civil rights. In 2014, the nation marked the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Freedom Summer. In 2015, we recognized the fiftieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Moving into the 21st century, America finds itself at the beginning of a new era defined by its own set of civil rights struggles. A shifting landscape requires the civil rights movements of the 21st century to shift in line with modern realities. “The Present and Future of Civil Rights Movements: Race and Reform in 21st Century America” presented an opportunity for scholars, teachers, practitioners, and activists to engage with each other as they discuss their unique perspectives on inequalities throughout different facets of modern America.

Keynote Speaker

Kimberlé W. Crenshaw is an American scholar in the field of Critical race theory, and a professor at UCLA School of Law and Columbia Law School where she specializes in race and gender issues.

Conference Videos

Civil Rights | Trends in Immigration Law & Policy

Welcome:
Dean David F. Levi (Duke Law School) Moderator: Cristina Rodriguez (Yale Law School)

Panel:

  • Leisy Abrego (UCLA, Department of Chicana/o Studies)
  • Jennifer Chacón (University of California, Irvine, School of Law)
  • Alejandra Gomez (Living United for Change in Arizona – LUCHA)
  • Marielena Hincapie (National Immigration Law Center)
  • Robin Lenhardt (Fordham University School of Law)
  • Hiroshi Motomura (UCLA School of Law)

Civil Rights | Reflections on the Present & Future of Civil Rights Movements

Introduction:
Trina Jones (Duke Law School) & Ana Apostoleris ’16 (Duke Law School – Student)

Plenary:
Reflections on the Present and Future of Civil Rights Movements

Moderator:
Angela Onwuachi-Willig (University of Iowa College of Law)

Panel:

  • Walter E. Dellinger III (Duke Law School)
  • Karla F. C. Holloway (Duke University, Department of English)
  • Kevin Johnson (University of California Davis School of Law, Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall)
  • Rachel F. Moran (UCLA School of Law)
  • Madhavi Sunder (University of California Davis School of Law, Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall)
  • Theodore M. Shaw (University of North Carolina School of Law)

Civil Rights | Discrimination in Dating and the Consumer Markets

Concurrent Panel (1 of 5):

  • Darrell A.H. Miller (Duke Law School)
  • Ralph Richard Banks (Stanford Law School)
  • Katharine T. Bartlett and Mitu Gulati (Duke Law School)
  • Michael Selmi (George Washington University Law School)
  • Sandra F. Sperino (University of Cincinnati College of Law)

Civil Rights | Developments & Ongoing Challenges for LGBTQ Communities

Plenary:
Developments and Ongoing Challenges for LGTB Communities

Moderator:
Holning Lau (University of North Carolina School of Law)

Panel:

  • Bernadette Brown (Duke University, Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity)
  • Chinyere Ezie (Southern Poverty Law Center)
  • Holiday Simmons (Lambda Legal)
  • Juan Session-Smalls & Gee Session-Smalls (Juan & Gee Enterprises)

Civil Rights | Race, Culture and Media

Plenary:
Race, Culture and Media

Moderator:
Mark Anthony Neal (Duke University, Department of African & African American Studies)

Panel:

  • Devon W. Carbado (UCLA School of Law)
  • Tanisha C. Ford (Haute Couture Intellectualism, University of Massachusetts Amherst)
  • Russell Robinson (University of California, Berkeley School of Law)
  • Goldie Taylor (Editor-at-Large, The Daily Beast)

Civil Rights | Closing Remarks, Guy-Uriel Charles

Remarks:
Christine Kim ’16, Guy-Uriel Charles (Duke Law School)

Civil Rights | Race, Political Participation, & the Roberts Court

Plenary:
Race, Political Participation, and the Roberts Court

Moderator:
Kerry Haynie (Duke University, Department of Political Science)

Panel:

  • Ari Berman (The Nation)
  • Richard Delgado (University of Alabama School of Law)
  • Luis Ricardo Fraga (University of Notre Dame, Institute for Latino Studies)
  • Pamela Karlan (Stanford Law School)
  • Taeku Lee (University of California Berkeley Department of Political Science)
  • Neil Siegel (Duke Law School)

Civil Rights | Criminal Justice Reform & Mass Incarceration

Plenary:
Criminal Justice Reform and Mass Incarceration

Moderator:
Mario Barnes (University California, Irvine, School of Law)

Panel:

  • Daryl Atkinson (Southern Coalition for Social Justice)
  • Devon W. Carbado (UCLA School of Law)
  • Michael Pinard (University of Maryland School of Law)
  • Cheryl Harris (UCLA School of Law)
  • Thena Robinson-Mock (Advancement Project)