Promises and Challenges of Achieving Racial Equality in Legal Education in Canada
Date
2010
Authors
Adjin-Tettey, Elizabeth
Deckha, Maneesha
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Carswell
Abstract
This paper considers the challenges law school actors (students, faculty, administrators)
face in countering the hegemonic whiteness of Canadian law schools.
In examining both admissions policies as well as current dominant law school cultures,
the authors reveal how Canadian law schools can act as sites of institutional
racism and provide suggestions on how to meaningfully diversify law schools in
order to create a more egalitarian society. Part I of the paper focuses on admissions
policies. The authors discuss the need for affirmative action and analyze different
options for implementing racial balance in the admissions process. The paper
also provides insights relating to the need for outreach and recruitment of
racialized students as well as considers the way the racialization of poverty may
impact attempts to achieve racial equality in legal education. Part II of the paper
focuses on the cultural norms that permeate law schools and the difficulties they
pose to racialized students and faculty. Specific problematic practices relating to
academic support, curriculum content, classroom dynamics, pedagogy, evaluation
and administration are identified and concrete steps that law schools can adopt in
these areas to achieve greater racial balance are offered. The paper ends by highlighting
the importance of racial equality in legal education to the broader goal of
achieving a socially just society.
Description
This is a post-print version of this paper, published in the Canadian Legal Education Annual Review, (2010) pp. 171-209. Reproduced by permission of Carswell, a division of Thomson Reuters Canada Limited.
Keywords
Citation
Elizabeth Adjin-Tettey & Maneesha Deckha, “Promises and Challenges of Achieving Racial Equality in Legal Education in Canada” (2010) CLEAR, 171-209.