Tom Burrell, founder of the Chicago-based Burrell Communications, has written a book about what he calls the myth of black inferiority and of white superiority.
Called “Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority,” Burrell, who is African-American, believes that many individuals and organizations have helped keep the myth alive. Burrell says that the myth dates back to slavery, when owners tried to make slavery fit into a democracy.
In a Chicago Tribune story, written by Dawn Turner Trice, Burrell states: “These messages have been passed down like tchotchkes through the generations. Somebody had to say that if we can market this idea that slaves are not human beings – they’re chattel – then the Founding Fathers can say ‘all men are created equal’ and not have this profound contradiction.”
In the article, Burrell shared he had begun a nonprofit called The Resolution Project. “We have a wonderful opportunity in this world of media to use the technology, the Internet, to create positive images to offset the negative ones,” he said.
To learn more about the project, visit www.stopthebrainwash.com
Multiethnic coalition of law student organizations at IIT Chicago-Kent receives the 2011 Sheldon H. Nahmod IIT Civil Rights Award
A multiethnic coalition of four student organizations at Illinois Institute of Technology’s Chicago-Kent College of Law in Chicago has received the 2011 Sheldon H. Nahmod IIT Civil Rights Award for “continuing and selfless dedication to those in need in their communities and beyond.”
The award was presented to representatives from Chicago-Kent’s African-American (BLSA), Hispanic-Latino (HLLSA), Asian-Pacific American (APALSA) and South Asian (SALSA) law student associations on January 20 as part of the university’s King Day celebration. To read the entire news release, click here.
An Opportunity To Create a High School-to-Law School Mentoring Program
Law schools throughout the U.S. are looking for a way to integrate the values of service and leadership into their curriculum. Some people call it Public Interest Law, others call it Service Learning. Either way, one law school has found an innovative way to accomplish this goal.
Washington University in St. Louis, under the leadership of Professor Kimberly Norwood, has created a program that allows law students to give back to their communities through a mentoring program. The program grants four credit hours in exchange for an experience that will forever alter the lives of high school students – and law students – throughout the St. Louis area.
Many of the high school students being mentored do not have role models in their lives who have embraced education and service into their lifestyle. By being exposed to a career in the law, the high school students begin to build confidence and a direction, while the law students hone their skills in a variety of legal subjects. Students who participate in her mentoring program – both the mentors and mentees – remain connected in bonds of friendship, leadership and empowerment long after the “classroom” experience has passed.
The Program in Chicago
In April 2009, the law offices of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, in Chicago hosted a luncheon for law school deans and the leaders of local nonprofit organizations that work with at-risk youths. Professor Norwood, who has received the National Bar Association’s Humanitarian Award, discussed the program, its successes to date and her plans for its future development.
To help foster the concept of Public Interest Law and ultimately encourage more youths to consider a career in the law, Romanucci & Blandin, LLC established this Web site to serve as a repository for successful high school-to-law school programs throughout the U.S. If you have information for the “Resources” link or the “Events” link, please send it electronically to John Wolf at wolfj@WUSTL.EDU.
