A Perilous Path: Talking Race, Inequality, and the Law

To recognize the founding of New York University's Center of Race, Inequality, and the Law, Thomson (New York Univ. Sch. of Law) invites three contributors—Sherrilyn Ifill (president, NAACP Legal Defence Fund), Bryan Stevenson (executive director, Equal Justice Initiative; Just Mercy), and former attorney general Loretta Lynch—to discuss how race and inequality impact the U.S. legal system. Presented as a series of transcripts, the chapters here feature prominent African American legal minds grappling with the process of identifying legal priorities relating to race and justice. A variety of topics are touched upon: investing in local activism; coalition building among racial, social, and economic lines; countering post-Obama backlash to legal reform; working against the school-to-prison pipeline; and enforcing citizens' guaranteed rights. The authors also engage in conversations about broader issues such as gerrymandering, affordable housing, and police reform, all in an effort to construct a new legal civil rights agenda. The result is a candid analysis of current political and policy landscape.