Iowa Law is proud to welcome an incredible line-up of speakers in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month. Past events appear at the bottom with a link to the recording.
Black History Month Documentary Short & Speaker
Evangeline Mitchell (97JD), Attorney, Author, Documentary Filmmaker, Social Entrepreneur & Non-Profit Founder
February 28, 2022 | 12:40pm - 1:40pm CST
In celebration of Black History Month, the College of Law and the UI Center for Human Rights welcomes Evangeline Mitchell for a special virtual screening of her award-winning documentary short "BECOMING BLACK LAWYERS." Following the screening of her film she will lead an open Q&A.
Evangeline is an Iowa Law graduate who went on to become an attorney, author/publisher, documentary filmmaker, non-profit founder, and social entrepreneur. Her purpose-driven life's work has focused on providing information, resources, connections, mentorship, and practical assistance to first-generation aspiring law students, particularly African Americans, to help them become more excellent, strategic, and competitive. She has founded several highly-successful pre-law conferences including the National Black Pre-Law Conference and the National HBCU Pre-Law Summit - comprehensive information-sharing and networking empowerment events that have impacted thousands (well over 10,000) of pre-law and law students nationwide. Throughout the years, she has received numerous awards for her trailblazing efforts - most recently receiving the CLEO Edge Award in Education from the Council on Legal Education, Inc., the Top 100 National Black Lawyers, and selected among The 10 Most Influential Black Lawyers of the Decade by Lawyers of Color.
MLK's Dream
Camille deJorna & Steff Reed, Living Our Values: A Conversation between a mother and son from the movement
Watch the Recording on YouTube
In commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the College of Law, the UI Center for Human Rights, BLSA, and the Law DEI Committee welcome Camille deJorna and Steff Reed for a special virtual lecture.
Camille deJorna's served as director of admissions from 1995 - 2001 at Iowa Law. She went on to serve in key roles with the American Bar Association, LSAC Global and is currently deputy for legal education at the Law School Admission Council, who had previously served at the University of Iowa as the director of admissions. She has spoken nationally and internationally on the subject of diversity and inclusion and recently was awarded the Ruth Bader Ginsburg Lifetime Achievement Award by the Association of American Law Schools. Camille will be joined by her son, Steff Reed, who is a Musician, Educator, and Activist.
Camille has also established the Camille deJorna Opportunity at Iowa Law. The purpose of the gift is “to help the law school recruit a student of color to Iowa or enable a current student of color to continue to benefit from the terrific legal education that the Iowa Law School offers.” To donate: givetoiowa.org/dejorna.
Black History Month Speaker
Clarence Otis, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Darden Restaurants, Inc.
Watch the recording on YouTube
In celebration of Black History Month, the College of Law, the Tippie College of Business, and the UI Center for Human Rights welcomes Clarence Otis for a special virtual lecture on February 14 from 12:40-1:40pm.
Clarence Otis is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Darden Restaurants, Inc., the largest company-owned and operated full-service restaurant company in the world. Mr. Otis serves as a board member with Verizon, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, and The Travelers Companies. His 20 years at Darden Restaurants provides him with critical perspectives on operations, strategy and management of a complex organization and a large-scale workforce, and his board service provides extensive risk management expertise.
Black History Month Speaker & Faculty Workshop
Paul Gowder, author and professor of law at Northwestern University
February 25, 2022 | 12:40pm - 1:40pm CST
Paul Gowder, former Iowa Law faculty member and current professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law will discuss his latest book, The Rule of Law in the United States: An Unfinished Project of Black Liberation, released December 2021. The book covers topics on the American rule of law and how it interacts with lifelike political states. This is his second book on the rule of law—the first is titled The Rule of Law in the Real World.