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Historically Black Colleges & Universities: A Model for American Education
Full text linkHungry for freedom and knowledge, enslaved Blacks engaged in a massive general strike against slavery by transferring their labor from the Confederate planter to the Northern invader, and this decided the Civil War. In 1865, the North conquered the South, and slavery officially ended. Having been starved of the opportunity to learn to read or write, the recently emancipated Blacks were eager to learn. Within a year after slavery ended, however, Florida and other Southern states enacted laws to ensure the continuation of the vestiges of slavery in the United States. The legacy of slavery and racism evolved into an equally insidious system by controlling opportunities available to Blacks. Although the South seemed to guide the construction of the development of this new system to control Blacks, the North was complicit as well. This legacy was particularly evident in education. Even after slavery, white-dominated political bodies enacted laws to prevent or interfere with the opportunities for Blacks to obtain an education. White obstruction to Black education existed at all levels, including in higher education. Driven to learn, newly freed Blacks, often with the help of others, founded their own higher educational institutions, which are now called historically Black colleges and universities. From their inception to the present, these schools have embraced educating all who knocked on their doors, including whites, without regard to race or color. This should be modeled in American education where race and color continue to slam doors to Black education
Grant of Clemency to Cyntoia Brown Highlights Deep Rooted Social Issues
Full text linkSociety and our criminal justice system place a value on victims and defendants. We manifest this valuation in how we mete out punishment, how we choose who will be stopped, frisked, searched, arrested, charged, given probation, have charges dismissed and even expunged. We show the worth we place in people by the fact that 95% of elected prosecutors are white males and they have control and say over a jail and prison population that is increasingly People of Color
The Virgil Darnell Hawkins Collection: A Special Collection at the Heart of An HBCU Law School
Full text linkThe Florida A&M University College of Law has several special collections, but the most significant of those special collections is one that is on the fourth floor of the law library. When you look at it you will see several ranges of books that are outdated. They include case reporters, statutes, secondary sources and other legal materials that are no older than the 1960s. This collection, frozen in time, is named in honor of Virgil Darnell Hawkins, an African-American who, while little known, was critical to the creation of the Florida A&M University College of Law and had an impact on African American access to higher education in the state of Florida, as well as on the civil rights movement in the United States nationally
Changing Historic Concepts of Water Rights and Water Ownership
No full textThis book chapter explores legal frameworks for use and ownership of water resources around the globe.https://commons.law.famu.edu/faculty-books/1057/thumbnail.jp
A Participatory Process to Engage Appalachian Youth in Reducing Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption
No full textChildren and adolescents consume excessive amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), which are associated with adverse health outcomes. We describe a yearlong participatory research study to reduce SSBs in Central Appalachia, where excessive consumption is particularly prevalent. This study was conducted in partnership with a community advisory board in Southwest Virginia. Nine “youth ambassadors,” aged 10 to 13 years helped to systematically adapt SIPsmartER, an effective theorybased program for Appalachian adults, to be age and culturally appropriate and meet desired theoretical objectives. They then assisted with delivering the curriculum during a school-based feasibility study and led an advocacy event in their community. Satisfaction surveys and feedback sessions indicate that ambassadors found the program acceptable and important for other students. Validated surveys and focus groups suggested that theoretical objectives were met. Findings from these mixed methods sources informed curricular changes to further enhance acceptability and refine theoretical objectives. Participation in follow-up advocacy activities was tracked and described. Following the yearlong study, ambassadors reported having advocacy skills and motivation to continue reducing SSB intake in their community. Results, challenges, and lessons learned are presented to inform larger efforts to enhance acceptability of programs and inspire youth to take action to reduce health disparities in Appalachian communities
Racial Justice and Federal Habeas Corpus as Postconviction Relief from State Convictions
Full text linkIt is the purpose of this Article not to simply document the influence of race on our criminal system and its role in the current racial crisis of overrepresentation of minorities in our prisons, but rather to focus on the future and importance of a key tool in the struggle for racial equity – federal habeas corpus as a postconviction remedy. By looking first at the racial context of several “landmark” criminal justice reform decisions, this Article considers how race serves as the root of the procedural due process reform that began in earnest during the Warren Court. This Article then notes the important role played by federal habeas corpus as a postconviciton remedy as well as the unique nature and suitability of this “extraordinary writ” to bring about transformative change
On the Basis of Sex: Examining John Grisham\u27s Legal Fiction Through Feminist Theory
Full text linkJohn Grisham’s legal fiction takes readers to a thrilling land where attorneys are the new heroes, fighting against the dark forces of injustice, corruption, and greed. Alas, in these masterfully crafted thrillers lies a force darker than all: Grisham’s writing has negatively molded our perception of women in the law and beyond. “[F]ictional portrayals can have a powerful impact on perceptions of real-life professionals.” Applying feminist theory to a text can unearth such portrayals and the ideology that “Western culture is fundamentally patriarchal” in literature in order to effectuate change. Analyzing text through the lens of feminist theory requires asking a panoply of questions in an effort to unveil, amongst other things, female stereotypes, their roles, how male characters talk about and treat female characters, representations of authority and power imbalances, attitudes suggested towards women, and which characters work behind the scenes as opposed to calling the shots. As such, this Article will use feminist theory as a tool to code the following themes to unveil Grisham’s depiction of female characters as attorneys and beyond: the scarcity or lack thereof of heroines; impeding the character’s chances of success at a legal career throughout the character’s journey or at the novel’s resolution; male gaze and objectification; stereotyping; sacrificing behind the scenes for the benefit of the hero through, among other things, mutilation and disguise; and the use of passive language/behavior and predominantly male viewpoint which subtly reinforces the negative view of women in the law and beyond. These themes, found throughout Grisham’s writing career from his very first novel, A Time to Kill, to one of his most recent, Gray Mountain, attest to Grisham’s failure to create a female character who is treated equally and rises to the level of one of his revered heroes
Crafting Relatable Tales: Teaching Students the Importance of Multidisiplinary Legal Research Using a Story Arc Structure
Full text linkKids SIPsmartER: A Feasibility Study to Reduce Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption Among Middle School Youth in Central Appalachia
No full textPurpose: To test the feasibility of Kids SIPsmartER, a school-based intervention to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Design: Matched-contact randomized crossover study with mixed-methods analysis. Setting: One middle school in rural, Appalachian Virginia. Participants: Seventy-four sixth and seventh graders (5 classrooms) received Kids SIPsmartER in random order over 2 intervention periods. Feasibility outcomes were assessed among 2 teachers. Intervention: Kids SIPsmartER consisted of 6 lessons grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior, media literacy, and public health literacy and aimed to improve individual SSB behaviors and understanding of media literacy and prevalent regional disparities. The matched-contact intervention promoted physical activity. Measures: Beverage Intake Questionnaire-15 (SSB consumption), validated theory questionnaires, feasibility questionnaires (student and teacher), student focus groups, teacher interviews, and process data (eg, attendance). Analysis: Repeated measures analysis of variances across 3 time points, descriptive statistics, and deductive analysis of qualitative data. Results: During the first intervention period, students receiving Kids SIPsmartER (n ¼ 43) significantly reduced SSBs by 11 ounces/day (P ¼ .01) and improved media (P \u3c .001) and public health literacy (P \u3c .01) understanding; however, only media literacy showed between-group differences (P \u3c .01). Students and teachers found Kids SIPsmartER acceptable, in-demand, practical, and implementable within existing resources. Conclusion: Kids SIPsmartER is feasible in an underresourced, rural school setting. Results will inform further development and large-scale testing of Kids SIPsmartER to reduce SSBs among rural adolescents