Racial Justice and Abolition Clinic

Course Description

Fieldwork

Students in the Racial Justice and Abolition Clinic will spend the school year working under the supervision of Adjunct Clinical Professor Jason D. Williamson on advocacy, organizing, and litigation that seeks to identify, name, and challenge the myriad ways in which the criminal legal system, in particular, works to reinforce white supremacy and the legacy of slavery in the United States. Students will work in teams with attorneys and other advocates from Law for Black Lives, the Parole Preparation Project, Releasing Aging People in Prison, and the American Civil Liberties Union, to explore a range of advocacy and organizing strategies aimed at advancing an abolitionist vision of transformational change.

Seminar

Seminar discussions will be centered around the pros and cons of traditional impact litigation in the civil rights/racial justice context, the implications of critical race theory in the practice of movement lawyering, and the connection between abolitionist theory and practice, using the students’ fieldwork experiences to compare and contrast varying approaches to the work. 

Application Procedure

Students interested in applying for the clinic should submit the standard application, resume, and transcript online through CAMS. No formal interviews will be conducted. If you have questions regarding the application procedure, please contact Jason Williamson.

* 12 credits consisting of 3 clinical (fieldwork) credits and 3 academic seminar credits per semester.