UH Law Center 'Distinguished Speaker' explores Confederate iconography and bias

Harvard law professor and historian to speak as part of Black History Month observance.

News provided by

Feb 07, 2019, 13:55 ET

HOUSTON, Feb. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A Harvard Law School professor and Pulitzer Prize winning historian will discuss the relationship between symbols of the Confederacy and racial bias Feb. 14 in observance of Black History Month at the University of Houston Law Center.

Annette Gordon-Reed, the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School and Professor of History at Harvard University, is the second lecturer in the Spring Distinguished Speaker Series hosted by UH Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes. Her topic is titled: "Confederate Iconography and Its Relationship to Implicit and Explicit Bias."

Gordon-Reed won the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2009 for "The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family," a subject she had previously written about in "Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy." She is also the author of "Andrew Johnson," and most recently published, with Peter S. Onuf, "Most Blessed of the Patriarchs: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination."

Her honors include a fellowship from the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library, a Guggenheim Fellowship in the humanities, a MacArthur Fellowship, the National Humanities Medal, the National Book Award, and the Woman of Power & Influence Award from the National Organization for Women in New York City. She was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2011 and is a member of the Academy's Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The lecture, co-sponsored by Houston Public Media, will be from 4:00 p.m. to 5:15 p.m., Feb. 14, at the University of Houston Law Center, 4604 Calhoun.

Click here to register. Attorneys will earn 1 hour of CLE credit.

The inaugural speaker in the series was Randall M. Ebner, vice-president and general counsel of ExxonMobil Corp. Future speakers include Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law Tanya Kateri Hernandez at Fordham University School of Law, and Anita Hill, professor of Social Policy, Law, and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis University.

Media contacts: Carrie Anna Criado, UH Law Center Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing, 713-743-2184, [email protected]; Elena Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Communications and Marketing, 713-743-1125, [email protected]; John T. Kling, Communications Manager, 713-743-8298, [email protected]; and John Brannen, Senior Writer, 713-743-3055, [email protected].

About the University of Houston

The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter for excellence in undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation's fourth-largest city and one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions in the country, UH is a federally designated Hispanic- and Asian-American-Serving institution with enrollment of more than 46,000 students.

About the University of Houston Law Center

The University of Houston Law Center (UHLC) is a dynamic, top tier law school located in the nation's 4^th largest city. UHLC's Health Law, Intellectual Property Law, and Part-time programs rank in the U.S. News Top 10. It awards Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) and Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees, through its academic branch, the College of Law. The Law Center is more than just a law school. It is a powerful hub of intellectual activity with more than 11 centers and institutes which fuel its educational mission and national reputation. UHLC is fully accredited by the American Bar Association and is a member of the Association of American Law Schools.

SOURCE University of Houston Law Center