Harry T. Edwards

A New Role for the Black Law Graduate: A Reality or an Illusion?

A NEW ROLE FOR THE BLACK LAW GRADUATE* By HARRY T. EDWARDS I. THE PROBLEM N TERMS OF sheer numbers, progress may be the apt term to describe the developing status of Blacks in the legal profession. In the decade since 1960 the legal profession has become sensitized to the social problems stemming from the dire shortage of Black legal practitioners. The perceived societal need for greater numbers of Black attorneys has recently been exposed, studied, and debated at length within the legal community. 1 In this effort the needs of the larger com- munity, and the Black community within, have been analyzed by practitioners, legal scholars, and laymen alike to sup- port the case for expansion in the num- ber of Blacks practicing at the bar. Al- *This article is a revised version of an article on the same topic originally published in the August, 1971 edi- tion of the Michigan Law Review. The Michigan Law Reylew ha kindly consented to the republication ot the materials here presented. 1. See, e.g., D. Dennis, E. Jones, & M. Young, Task Force findings on Problems of Southern Black Law Practition- ers, Preliminary Report (1970) (unpublished report on file with Michigan Law Review) [hereinafter Task Force Report]; Aslkin, The Case for Compensatory Treatment, 24 Rutgers L. Rev. 65 (1969); Bell, In Defense of Minority Admissions Programs: A Response to Profes- sor Graglia, 119 U. Pa. L. Rev. 364 (1970); Browo, Racial Discrimination in the Legal Profession, 53 Judi- cature 385 (1970); Edwards, Black Perspective: Justice and the Judicial System, 15 L. Quadrangle Notes 20 (Univ. of Mich. L. S., Winter, 1971); Fleming & Pol- lack, An Exchange of Letters - The Black Quota at Yale Law School, 19 The Public Interest 44 (Spring, 1910); Gellhorn, The Law Schools and the Negro, 196% Duke L.J. 1069; Gellhorn, Address, in Assn. of An. Law Schools: Proceedings 28, 33-34 (1963); Gossett, Bar Must Encourage More Negro Lawyers, 4 Trial 22 (April-May 1968); Graglia, Special Admission of the Culturally Deprived to Law School, 119 U. Pa. L. Rev, 351 (1970); Leonard, Address to Assn. of Ant. though prior to the late 1960s thoughtful observation would have revealed the paucity of Black lawyers, it has taken the composite effect of the civil rights movement, the angry voices of militant Black organizations, the violence borne of frustration during long hot summers, and the incisive commentary of the Ker- ner Commission Report 2 to trigger a serious and accurate assessment of the impact of racial imbalance at the bar. The by-product of this effort at assess- ment has been the procreation of some excellent scholarly comment, which in turn has helped to produce long overdue programs designed to increase Black en- rollments at the major American law schools. 3 However, it is noteworthy that, with rare exception, most of the signifi- Law Schools Conference (New Orleans, La.) (April 1971) (unpublished speech on file with Michigan Law Review); McGee, Minority Students in Law School: Black Lawyers and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the American Social Order, 2 Wal. L. RtN. 42?, 915t; McPherson, The Black Law Student: A Problem of Fidelities, Atlantic, April 1970 at 93; Paone & Reis, Effective Enforcement of Federal Nondiscrimination Provisions in the Hiring of Lawyers, 40 So. Cal. L. Rev. 615 (1967); Pinderhughes, Increasing Minority Group Students in Law Schools: The Rationale and the Critical Issues, 20 Buff. L. Rev. 447 (1971); Shuman, A Black Lawyers Study, 16 How. L. J. 225 (1971); Wirtz, Address, in Assn. of Am. Law Schools: Pro- ceedings 92, 100 (1963); Symposium on the Black Law- yer in America Today, 22 Hare. L. S. Bull. 6 (Feb. 1971); Symposium: Disadvantaged Students and Legal Education - Programs for Affirmative Action, 1970 U. Tol. L. Rev. 277; Commentary, Negro Members of the Alabama Bar, 21 Ala. L. Rev. 306 (1969); Comment, Current Legal Education of Minorities: A Survey, 19 Bull. L. Rev. 639) (1970). 2. National Advisory Comm. on Civil Disorders, Report 3. For a discussion of the various programs, see Rosen, Equalizing Access to Legal Education: Special Pro- grams for Law Students Who Are Not Admissable by Traditional Criteria, 1970 U. Tol. L. Rev. 321.