150th Anniversary of Dred Scott v. Sandford: Race, Citizenship & Justice

Sponsored by Bingham McCutchen LLP

The year 2007 marks the 150th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s historic decision, Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393. Ever since this controversial decision was handed down in 1857, historians, legal scholars, civil rights advocates and others have debated the significance of the Supreme Court’s discussion of jurisdiction as well as its ultimate substantive findings.

To recognize this occasion, and to consider the enduring legacy of this decision, the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice (CHHIRJ) at the Harvard Law School will host a two-day national conference to examine Dred Scott, its historical significance, and current application to unique issues of law, particularly those pertaining to race and civil rights.

Confirmed participants:

Judges, Lawyers & Expert Witnesses Participating in the Reconsideration of Dred Scott v. Sandford:

• The Honorable Stephen G. Breyer (Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court)
• The Honorable Harry T. Edwards (Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit)
• The Honorable Damon J. Keith (Senior Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit)
• The Honorable Allyson K. Duncan (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit)
• The Honorable Roger L. Gregory (Judge, U.S Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit)
• The Honorable Carlos F. Lucero (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit)
• The Honorable Theodore A. McKee (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit)
• The Honorable Edward C. Prado (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit)
• The Honorable Johnnie B. Rawlinson (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit)
• The Honorable Ann Claire Williams (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit)
• The Honorable Charles R. Wilson (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit)
• Professor Akhil Reed Amar (Professor of Law, Yale Law School)
• Professor Erwin S. Chemerinsky (Alston & Bird Professor of Law and Political Science, Duke University School of Law)
• John Payton, Esq. (Partner, WilmerHale)
• Dean Kenneth W. Starr (Duane & Kelly Roberts Dean and Professor of Law, Pepperdine University School of Law)
• Professor Derrick A. Bell (Visiting Professor of Law, New York University School of Law)
• Professor Sarah H. Cleveland (Bemis Visiting Professor in International Law, Harvard Law School, and Professor of Law, University of Texas School of Law)
• Professor Paul Finkelman (President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy, Albany Law School)
• Professor John Stauffer (Chair, History of American Civilization, and Professor of English and African and African American Studies, Harvard University)

Panelists & Other Guest Speakers:

• Christopher Arriola (Past President, California La Raza Lawyers)
• Professor Derrick A. Bell (Visiting Professor of Law, New York University School of Law)
• Professor Stephen Best (Associate Professor, Department of English, University of California –Berkeley)
• The Honorable Robert L. Carter (Senior Judge, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York)
• Otis G. Clark (104-year-old Tulsa Race Massacre Survivor)
• Professor Sarah H. Cleveland (Bemis Visiting Professor in International Law, Harvard Law School, and Professor of Law, University of Texas School of Law)
• Professor Gregg D. Crane (Associate Professor in English, University of Michigan)
• Susan Eaton (Research Director, CHHIRJ)
• President-Elect Drew Gilpin Faust (Harvard University)
• Professor Judith Jackson Fossett (Associate Professor of American Studies, Ethnicity & English, University of Southern California)
• Professor Mark Graber (Professor of Law, University of Maryland School of Law)
• Professor Jack Greenberg (Alphonse Fletcher Professor of Law, Columbia Law School)
• Professor Farah J. Griffin (Professor of English & African American Studies, Columbia University)
• David J. Harris (Managing Director, CHHIRJ)
• Professor Bruce L. Hay (Professor of Law, Harvard Law School)
• Dean Elena Kagan (Dean & Charles Hamilton Houston Professor of Law, Harvard Law School)
• The Honorable Carlos F. Lucero (Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit)
• Sylvia Mendez (Daughter of Gonzalo Mendez)
• Professor Eric J. Miller (Assistant Professor of Law, Saint Louis University School of Law)
• Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Jr. (Founding & Executive Director, CHHIRJ)
• Professor John A. Powell (Professor of Law, Executive Director, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity, Moritz College of Law, Ohio State University)
• Sandra Robbie (Writer/Producer, Mendez vs. Westminster: For All the Children / Para Todos los Ninos)
• Professor Gwendolyn DuBois Shaw (Associate Professor, Department of History of Art, University of Pennsylvania)
• Professor Jed Shugerman (Assistant Professor of Law, Harvard Law School)
• Professor Valerie Smith (Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature, Director, Center for African American Studies, Princeton University)
• Professor John Stauffer (Chair, History of American Civilization, and Professor of English and African and African American Studies, Harvard University)
• Professor Cass R. Sunstein (Visiting Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, and Karl N. Llewellyn Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School)
• Professor David A. Thomas (Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School)
• Reginald Turner (Producer of Before They Die!, The Tulsa Race Riot Documentary)
• Professor Mark Tushnet (William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Law, Harvard Law School)
• Professor Lea VanderVelde (Josephine Witte Professor of Law, University of Iowa College of Law)
• Professor Jenny Wahl (Professor of Economics, Carleton College)
• Gregory J. Wallance, Esq. (Partner, Kaye Scholer LLP)
• Professor Lawrence Watson (Professor, Berklee College of Music, Ensemble Department)
• R. Owen Williams (Ph.D. Candidate, Yale University)
• Wess Young (90-year-old Tulsa Race Massacre Survivor)
• Jay S. Zimmerman (Chairman, Bingham McCutchen LLP)