Following Talk With Action

Minority student protest over the Law School's hiring and teaching practices has in recent months taken several forms, ranging from initial criticism of the selection of a white civil rights expert for a winter-term course to this week's rare formal presentation of suggestions at a faculty meeting.

On Wednesday, the Third World Coalition, an umbrella organization composed of representative from several minority groups, actually acted on its demands for greater attention to minority issues in the classroom by initiating its own alternative minority legal rights course.

Shifting from its confrontational stance against the January civil rights course offering taught by Chambers and Defense Fund Director-Counsel Jack Greenberg, the coalition has organized and launched its own non-credit course. "Racism and American Law." George E. Bisharat, a leading member of the coalition, characterized the course as alternative in two respects: "It's an alternative course to the other Third World civil rights courses, and offers an alternative format to the highly formal authoritarian pedagogy [of most law classes]."

In addition to its educational value, organizers believe the course will increase faculty awareness of student concerns. "Over 185 people signed up for the course. The numbers should send a very, very strong, clear signal to the faculty that we're not a bunch of troublemakers, that we're not isolated, and our actions are based on strong sentiment." Bisharat said this week.

Approximately 90 students attended the first meeting of "Racism and American Law." The class will meet two hours a week during the term, with no tests or papers. Many students who attended the first lecture said they felt that there was not sufficient coverage of minority legal issues at the school.

"I think it is one of the most relevant courses, which, though technically not offered here, is available," said Cynthia Muldrow, a Black law student. In addition, some said they had a special interest because they were minorities themselves.

Bisharat said he expects about 12 professors and minority legal experts from around the country to come speak, although arrangements still need to be finalized for a number of the possible lectures. W. Haywood Burns '62, co-chairman of the New York-based National Conference of Black Lawyers, delivered Wednesday's lecture, speaking on "Racism and American Law. "A Historical and Theoretical Overview."

Before the lecture. Burns said in an interview with reporters that he felt that Harvard was one of several law schools with a low proportion of minority professors. "I think in general American legal education has fallen far short of the mark in terms of its hiring practice in respect to educators and Harvard has to be included in that, but I don't think Harvard is unique," he said.

Burns took issue with Harvard's explanation that the Law faculty includes few minorities because of a small pool of minority scholars. "I think that is demonstrably up true," he said. "The very responsible thing that the students have done in organizing this course is to demonstrate over the coming weeks that there are large numbers of highly qualified minority law professors and legally trained individuals who can come here and equip themselves very well in teaching."

In addition to Burns Bisharat said that he has confirmed lecturers for the following three weeks: Robert T. Coulter, founder and executive director of the Indian Resource Center in Washington. D.C., John Britain, associate professor at the University of Connecticut Law School, and Neil Gotanda, assistant professor of Law at Duquesne University School of Law. The lecturers will address other legal topics involving racial discrimination, particularly with historical analysis dating back to colonial America.

Other lecturers invited to speak include Derek Bell, former Black professor at the Law School and currently Dean of the University of Oregon Law School: California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso: Linda Greene, a professor at the University of Oregon: Ralph Smith from University of Pennsylvania Law School. Although he has not yet been confirmed as a speaker. Reynoso said that "in general, the American law schools need to recruit more minority professors." "There is a big gap between awareness and getting something done," he added.

Several lecturers contacted similarly criticized Harvard for a lack of aggressiveness in the areas of minority hiring and teaching. Coulter, who will be speaking next week on "Discrimination in the Law Affecting American Indians," said this week that the Harvard group has a "moral mandate to get across the idea that these social concerns need to be studied." "I am amazed that Harvard does not offer more of this material in their curriculum," he said, adding that the non-credit course could be a "very effective means of showing what needs to be studied."

Bisharat and other minority leaders are hoping that the course will gain increasing attention during the semester, indicating broad student support for the sort of curriculum and faculty reforms which they propose. "This is the first time in my four years here that I have seen actions of this sort. It reflects that students are waking up and taking an interest," Bisharat said.

But while the students who spent the fall organizing a boycott have now begun to address academic concerns more directly, they refuse to rule out the possibility of additional protest. "If the faculty does not respond in this then they are responsible for our further actions of protest," Bisharat said.