WASHINGTON – The Howard University School of Law will host the Sixth Annual C. Clyde Ferguson Symposium on January 28, 2021 from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Zoom and Facebook Live. This year’s symposium, titled “The Promise and Perils of Technology: Legal Strategies to Protect Communities of Color,” will bring together experts in a series of panel discussions to explore how technology, with all its societal benefits, can also negatively impact marginalized communities. Registration for the symposium is now open.

“Howard University School of Law and the Howard Human and Civil Rights Law Review are thrilled to be hosting the sixth annual C. Clyde Ferguson Lecture,” said Darin Johnson, associate law professor. “Dean Ferguson was a giant in the field of civil and human rights in the United States and globally. The lecture provides us with an opportunity to honor his legacy and to reflect on the civil and human rights issues of the day. As we have all seen by recent events at the Capitol, technology, for all of its benefits, can also be utilized in ways that amplify existing societal discrimination. We must educate ourselves about the ways in which these consequences are unfolding, so that we can defend against them. We are looking forward to a robust conversation about this issue with an amazing array of scholars.”

The symposium will include three panel discussions and a keynote lecture by Maurice Dyson, professor of law at Suffolk University. Dyson has practiced law with the law firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, where he specialized in mergers and acquisitions, securities and leverage buyouts valued over $166 billion. He has participated in landmark pro bono school finance litigation, winning a $14 billion judgement that was upheld on appeal. Dyson also led federal civil rights enforcement as the special projects team attorney for the Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. His forthcoming work, “Challenging Artificial Intelligence Algorithms in Discretionary Decision Making,” pioneers important groundwork for how we must begin to challenge the ways AI makes determinations in the legal system.

The Ferguson Symposium honors the legacy of C. Clyde Ferguson Jr., a former dean of Howard University School of Law, who dedicated much of his life and career to human and civil rights. The symposium is hosted by the Howard Human & Civil Rights Law Review, a student-managed, faculty-supervised law review published by the Howard University School of Law.

The schedule for “The Promise and Perils of Technology: Legal Strategies to Protect Communities of Color” is provided below.

10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Introduction

11:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. - Panel I: Information & Computer Technology and Discrimination

12:45 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. - Keynote Lecture, Maurice Dyson

2:00 p.m. - 3:15 p.m. - Panel II: Surveillance & Criminal Enforcement Technologies and Discrimination

3:30 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. - Panel III: Biotechnology and Discrimination

5:00 - Closing Remarks

To register for the symposium, click here.

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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 one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. 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