UH Law Center's Rosenberg Memorial Lecture to focus on multiracials and civil rights

Fordham law professor uses court cases to show mixed race people face same discrimination as other minority groups.

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Feb 28, 2019, 17:51 ET

HOUSTON, Feb. 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- An internationally recognized authority on race relations and anti-discrimination law will explore racism faced by the growing number of "multiracials" in the U.S. on March 4 as speaker in the annual Yale L. Rosenberg Memorial Lecture at the University of Houston Law Center.

Professor Tanya Katerí Hernández says some scholars contend the historical concept of black-white racism has changed and call for revision of existing civil rights laws.

But, Hernández, the Archibald R. Murray Professor of Law at Fordham University School of Law, draws upon court cases to demonstrate that multiracials face the same discrimination as other minority groups because of their "non-whiteness." Instead of changing the current legal structure, she calls for a renewed focus on existing civil rights laws in light of today's resurgence of racism.

Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes will moderate a panel discussion following her lecture titled, "Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination."

Commentators are: Dr. Guillermo De Los Reyes, UH associate professor of Latin American Cultures and Literatures; Dr. Mark Goldberg, director of Jewish Studies, UH History Department; and Dr. Amy Lucas, assistant professor of Sociology and Women's Studies, UH Clear Lake. Dean Baynes and Dean Antonio D. Tillis, UH College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, will deliver welcome remarks.

Hernández received her A.B. from Brown University, and her J.D. from Yale Law School. She has taught at the Université Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense, in Paris, and the University of the West Indies Law School, in Trinidad. She has previously served as a Law and Public Policy Affairs Fellow at Princeton University, a faculty fellow at the Institute for Research on Women at Rutgers University; a faculty fellow at the Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law and Equality, and as an Independent Scholar in Residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. She is a Fulbright Scholar, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, the American Law Institute, and the Academia Puertorriqueña de Jurisprudencia y Legislación.

Her research on comparative race relations and anti-discrimination law has been published in numerous university law reviews and news outlets, including the New York Times. She is the author of "Racial Subordination in Latin America: The Role of the State, Customary Law and the New Civil Rights Response" and "Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination."

The lecture, co-sponsored by Houston Public Media, will begin at 6:30 p.m., March 4, at the University of Houston Law Center, 4604 Calhoun. A reception and book signing will follow in the Albertus Room.

Click here to register. Attorneys will earn .75 hour of CLE credit.

The Yale L. Rosenberg Memorial Fund was established to fund a student writing prize and to bring distinguished speakers to the Law Center. Rosenberg joined the University of Houston Law Center faculty in 1972 after a distinguished career in government. His teaching of Civil Procedure, Federal Jurisdiction, Professional Responsibility, and Jewish Law earned him the UH Teaching Excellence Award in 2000. An award-winning scholar, Rosenberg has been called "America's prophet" for his analysis of the decline of federal habeas corpus. An alumnus of Rice University, he graduated from New York University Law School in 1964.

To view and download COMPARATIVE AMERICAN AND TALMUDIC CRIMINAL LAW by Irene Merker Rosenberg and Yale L. Rosenberg, a book published electronically by the University of Houston Law Center, please visit: law.uh.edu/rosenberg/jewishlaw/mobile/index.html

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 4th 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 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