Civil Rights

Robert Anderson, the Oneida Indian Nation Visiting Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, discusses the latest Supreme Court decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma, a landmark for Native American rights that resolves decades' worth of legal argument.

A warrior for reproductive rights, Julie Rikelman ’97 has taken the fight for access to abortion to the Supreme Court and won.

In a July 2019 Q&A, David Harris, managing director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race & Justice, discussed the annual public reading of Douglass’ speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, virtual this year for the first time in its 12-year history.

Tomiko Brown-Nagin spoke with Harvard Law Today about the history of Juneteenth and its particular relevance more than 150 years later.

In a 6-3 vote, the Court ruled that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act forbids job discrimination based on a person's sexual orientation and gender identity. Alexander Chen ’15, founder of HLS' LBGTQ+ Advocacy Clinic, discusses the significance of the landmark decision.

COVID-19 presents a unique threat to people in prisons and jails, agreed panelists at “Incarcerated Populations and COVID-19: Public Health, Ethical, and Legal Concerns,” a webinar hosted by Harvard Law School’s Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics.

In an open letter to the community, Harvard Law School professors and other associates condemn President Trump’s statements about recent protests

This year, the Harvard Law School Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs has recognized six students from the Class of 2020 for their outstanding clinical and pro bono work.

This year's commencement speaker, renowned public interest attorney Bryan Stevenson ’85 urged HLS graduates to keep their hopes intact and work to change the narratives that sustain inequality.

During HLS' virtual commencement ceremony, a number of graduates were recognized for their outstanding leadership, citizenship and dedication to their studies.

With the aim of advocating for refugees, Niku Jafarnia J.D. / M.P.P.’20 focused on the intersection of refugee rights, armed conflict, and counterterrorism as joint law and public policy student at Harvard.

Lyla Wasz-Piper ’20 and Kennedi Williams-Libert ’20 have received the 2020 Outstanding Clinical Student Team Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association, recognized for their unique partnership and exemplary teamwork during their time as student attorneys at the Criminal Justice Institute.

Jeremy Ravinsky ’20, this year’s recipient of the Andrew L. Kaufman Pro Bono Award, was recognized for providing more than 2,000 hours of pro bono services with the Tenant Advocacy Project and Project No One Leaves.

Sejal Singh ’20 is the recipient of the David Grossman Exemplary Clinical Student Award. She was recognized for her work on the Project on Predatory Student Lending, as well as her exemplary contributions to public-interest endeavors.

Dylan Asafo LL.M. ’20 plans to use his HLS education to help address the inequalities facing communities of color in New Zealand and the wider Pacific region.

On May 12, Harvard Law School Clinical Professor Dehlia Umunna urged students to maintain a sense of gratitude as she kicked off the Last Lecture series for the graduating Class of 2020.

In her Last Lecture on May 13, Harvard Law School Assistant Professor Daphna Renan emphasized her kinship with the Class of 2020. She had…

The 2020 Last Lecture Series is an HLS tradition where selected faculty members impart insight, advice, and final words of wisdom to the graduating class. Speakers this year included Dehlia Umunna, Daphna Renan, Ruth Okediji, and Naz Modirzadeh.

A recent Harvard Law School Human Rights Program (HRP) workshop convened a group of experts for a discussion on indirect discrimination on the basis of religion.

Renowned Public Interest Lawyer Bryan Stevenson J.D./M.P.P. ’85 was named Harvard Law School’s 2020 graduation speaker.

In late April, a federal appeals court handed an unprecedented win to schoolchildren, becoming the first appellate federal court in American history to conclude that children have a fundamental right to a minimum education that provides basic literacy.