Dean Meyer's Message: Race and Equal Justice, Next Steps at TLS

Dear Students,

 I am following up on my earlier message to the law school community with an update on specific steps that we will be taking in the coming days and months to address the broader crisis of racial injustice and to build a more inclusive community here at Tulane Law School. 

 Yesterday evening, Dean Griffin, Dean Gaunt and I met with current and recent leadership of BLSA to solicit their advice about how we can partner together in this cause.  As a result of this meeting, we will be building on several initiatives, some of which were already underway or in development, to support Black students and to enrich educational opportunities for our entire community relating to civil rights and equal justice.

 First, this summer we will host a series of discussions on race and racism as part of our Distancing Together programming.  These will include discussions of the film Just Mercy, based on the book by Bryan Stevenson; White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo; Becoming by Michelle Obama; and The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, with administrators, faculty members, and practitioners.  The summer series will conclude with mandatory trainings on Implicit Bias for all students (in addition to the training all incoming 1Ls receive).  In the fall, we will continue to expand the excellent diversity and inclusion programming that Dean Griffin has organized since rejoining Tulane Law School in 2018.  We look forward to coming together as a community to engage with you on these important issues.  

 Second, we will work to expand our curricular offerings on topics relating to race and equal justice.  These will include courses, teach-ins, and workshops, some of which are already in development.  We will also work to assist students in finding pro bono opportunities focused on social justice within communities of color, in New Orleans and elsewhere.

 Third, we will work with student organizations to promote robust opportunities for engagement with issues of race and equal justice and equity in funding and membership selection.

Fourth, we will be forming an Anti-Racism Task Force, composed of students, faculty, staff, and administrators, to assist with implementation of these initiatives and to discuss additional initiatives in the future.  The task force will be convened for an initial meeting next week and its membership will be expanded in the fall through an invitation for additional interested students to apply.

 Fifth, I want to take this opportunity to encourage all members of our community to care for and look out for one another when so many are hurting.  I remind you that all members of our community are prohibited from engaging in discrimination or harassment on the basis of any protected classification, and students engaging in this behavior may face disciplinary charges under the Tulane Code of Student Conduct.  Students are encouraged to report incidents of bias or discrimination on Tulane.edu/concerns or to one of the law school deans.  Federal laws governing privacy and confidentiality limit the information that can be shared publicly regarding the University’s response to these concerns, but please know that Tulane takes these reports very seriously.  

 Finally, and most importantly, I know that many of you are suffering acutely and we want to support you in any way we can.  While all of us are reeling in our own ways, rooted in our own perspectives, I also know that our Black students are suffering specially based on their own lived experiences with racism and oppression.  In the wake of so many searing displays of indifference to the lives and wellbeing of Black people across our country, we must all stand united as a community in pledging to support one other and in making good the moral imperative that Black Lives Matter.

 Amid so much grief and despair, there are heartening signs that the murder of George Floyd might at last be a catalyst for genuine systemic change.  We must seize this opportunity to ensure that we are doing all we can to educate ourselves, strengthen our community, and prepare lawyers who can lead that change.

 We invite your input as we strive to make Tulane Law School a more just and inclusive community.

In unity,

David D. Meyer

Dean and Mitchell Franklin Professor of Law