WASHINGTON – The Howard Law Journal at Howard University School of Law will host the 16^th Annual Wiley A. Branton Symposium on Tuesday, Oct. 29 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. in the Moot Court Room. In honor of the law school’s sesquicentennial, the annual conference will include a series of conversations with law professors themed around the law school’s next 150 years and shaping a civil rights agenda for the 21st century. NYU Law Professor Melissa Murray will serve as the featured speaker in a keynote conversation moderated by Howard Law School Dean, Danielle Holley-Walker. 

“The law school is looking forward to hosting our annual Wiley Branton symposium,” says Holley-Walker. “Each year this is a centerpiece of the intellectual life of Howard’s Law School. We are especially pleased that this year’s theme, focused on the future of the civil rights agenda, directly ties into the theme of the law school’s sesquicentennial celebration, The Next 150. This year’s symposium will bring together nationally recognized legal academics and practitioners to consider this important theme at a critical time in our nation’s history.”

Murray’s research focuses on the legal regulation of sex and sexuality and encompasses topics like marriage and its alternatives, the marriage equality debate, the legal recognition of caregiving, and reproductive rights and justice. She is an author of “Cases on Reproductive Rights and Justice,” the first casebook to cover the field of reproductive rights and justice. She has been published in the New York Times, Newsweek, the San Francisco Chronicle, Vanity Fair, and the Huffington Post, and has offered commentary for numerous media outlets, including NPR, MSNBC, and PBS.

The conference will feature three panel discussions with expert panelists and speakers throughout the day. The program includes a discussion titled, “A New Model for Black Reparations” with featured speaker Roy Brooks, professor of law at the University of San Diego. Brooks is a teacher and writer in the areas of civil procedure, civil rights, employment discrimination and critical theory.

Additional speakers and panelist information is included below:

Welcome and Introduction, Dean Danielle Holley-Walker

A Reflection on Civil Rights Agendas of the Past, Dean Carla Pratt, Professor Derek Black, Professor Harold McDougall, moderated by Dean Danielle Conway

Framing the Next Civil Rights Agenda, Professor Nicol Turner-Lee, Dean Danielle Conway, Professor, Sheila Foster, Professor Rhonda Sharpe, moderated by Professor Justin Hansford

Keynote Conversation, Dean Holley-Walker, Professor Melissa Murray

“A New Model for Black Reparations?”: Reflections on the Debate, Professor Roy Brooks, Professor Carlton Waterhouse, Professor Eric Miller, Professor Adjoa Aiyetoro

This event is free and open to the public. The Branton Symposium is held annually with sponsorship from Sidley Austin LLP and Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, to honor Howard University School of Law’s former dean, civil rights activist and Sidley partner, the late Wiley A. Branton. Click here to register.

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About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, two Marshall Scholars, one Schwarzman Scholar, over 70 Fulbright Scholars and 22 Pickering Fellows. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

Media Contact: Misha Cornelius, misha.cornelius@howard.edu