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12 ¦ MARCH 22, 2021 NEWS

Record Number of Black Students Take the
Reins at Flagship Law Journals

By Karen Sloan

(Top, l-r) Kelly Daniel, Antonio Milton, Tatiana Hyman and Jeannine Holmes. (Bottom, l-r) Tiffany Mickel,

I Hilda Frimpong, Brandie Burris and Charisma Ricksy Nguepdo. Courtesy photos
t’s turning out to be a banner year for Black law bias may make it easier for other journal staff to say,
students trailblazing to the top of the masthead at ‘Yeah, this is a qualified person. We’ve never had
flagship law reviews. a Black person as [editor-in-chief]. Now may be a
At least eight such law journals have elected their good time to change the narrative about the com-
first-ever Black editors-in-chief this cycle, in what plexion of our journal.’”
could be a sign that legal education’s renewed di- This cycle represents the acceleration of a trend
versity efforts are yielding results and that law that began in 2013, when the fairly dismal record of
students are taking steps to combat their own inter- flagship law journals promoting Black students to
nal biases. It looks to be the single-largest cohort of the top editor post began to improve slightly. Of the
groundbreaking Black law review leaders on record, 60 Black editors-in-chief Parks identified at top 100
according to research compiled by Wake Forest Uni- law schools, more than half were appointed in 2013
versity law professor Gregory Parks. Notably, seven or later.
of the eight incoming Black editors are women. Among the flagship journals that have recently
“One thing that has hindered Black people in the elected their first Black editors-in-chief are those
past from becoming [editor-in-chief] is other mem- at the University of Virginia School of Law; Ford-
bers of the journal who can’t check their biases at ham University School of Law; the University of
the door or who are not aware of them,” said Parks, Minnesota Law School; the University of Houston
who has been working to develop a list of Black Law Center; the University of Kentucky J. David
editors-in-chief at the flagship journals of the 100 Rosenberg College of Law; Georgia State University
top-ranked law schools. “Heightened awareness of College of Law; Syracuse University College of Law;

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