Review of Law & Social Change hosts 40th anniversary celebration
On March 6, the Review of Law & Social Change hosted a 40th anniversary celebration; more than 125 alumnae, representing all four decades of the journal’s history, were in attendance. The anniversary event both celebrated the journal’s history and served as a debut for the publication’s new theme—“From Page to Practice”—which refers to a reaffirmed commitment to publishing articles, organizing symposia, and building a community with the power to produce substantive progressive change.
A panel of Social Change alumnae—including Terry Fromson '78, Chuck Lesnick '85, Cedric Powell '87, Babe Howell '93, and Amy Sugimori '99—shared memories of their time as journal editors. They also reflected on how scholarship plays a role in their careers as practitioners, academics, and policymakers, highlighting how they have personally moved ideas from page to practice, and sometimes back to page again. Remembering long hours spent cite-checking footnotes, Sugimori said, “We didn’t realize it at the time, but by producing quality work we were building an institution that has legitimacy, that has power.” Powell, now a law professor specializing in critical race theory and the First Amendment at the University of Louisville, echoed this sentiment when he said, “Ideas have tremendous power, especially for those of us who are interested in exploring existing social systems and how they operate.” Lesnick, the current Yonkers city council president, captured the idealism and progressive spirit that has informed Social Change’s philosophy throughout its four decades when he conveyed advice he himself had received as a young lawyer: “Do good first...you can always do well later.”
The journal also announced plans to begin an official alumnae association in the coming year. To join the association or be notified of upcoming events, please email the Editors-in-Chief at law.rlsc@nyu.edu .