Join us for a discussion on race, justice, and the law with esteemed lawyers Professor Renee Landers and Raymond Wilkes with moderator Attorney Dovie King. We will explore some of the history of legislation promoting civil rights, works of restorative justice to right historical wrongs, and what more should be done to promote true equity. This program is co-sponsored by Belmont Against Racism in conjunction with Belmont Public Library’s Better Through Books: Healing Community Together Community Read featuring Say I’m Dead: A Family Memoir of Race, Secrets, and Love by E. Dolores Johnson. Please register below to receive the Zoom invitation; for optimal context, please view the Lynching of Henry Gilbert video found here.

Renée M. Landers is Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School and is the Faculty Director of the school’s Health and Biomedical Law Concentration and the Masters of Science in Law Life Sciences program. President of the Boston Bar Association in 2003-2004, she was the first woman of color and the first law professor to serve in that position. She has worked in private practice and served as Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Policy Development at the U.S. Department of Justice during the Clinton Administration. Professor Landers is the author of articles on the potential for Massachusetts health care reform initiatives to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care and aspects of the Affordable Care Act. In addition to health care, Landers has written on diversity in the legal profession and privacy and is a regular commentator on legal developments in constitutional law, health law, and administrative law for media organizations. Recently, she was named among the “2020 Top Women of Law” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Attorney Raymond Wilkes is a Legal Fellow with the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ) at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, Massachusetts. CRRJ conducts research and support policy initiatives on anti-civil rights violence in the United States, and other injustices, during the period 1930-1970. Attorney Wilkes manages the project’s current and incoming cases, along with supervising its student investigators. His work with CRRJ includes conducting police trainings, supervising attorney investigators, and fostering partnerships with other civil rights organizations. In addition to his work with CRRJ, Attorney Wilkes serves as an advisor to Northeastern University's Restorative and Transformative Justice Task Force and as an adjunct professor at Southern University Law Center.

Dovie King is an award-winning public interest lawyer committed to social justice. She draws from her personal upbringing as the daughter of immigrants in devoting her legal career to helping marginalized communities. This includes representing undocumented immigrants, people of color, Spanish-speakers and survivors of domestic violence. Currently, Dovie is the Director of SOAR for Justice and a Contributing Writer for Law at the Margins. She is formerly a Member of the Belmont Human Rights Commission, Town Meeting and the Affirmative Action & Diversity Officer for the Belmont Democratic Town Committee. Dovie earned her BA in Political Science and Latin American Studies at Brown University, and her JD at Northeastern University School of Law.

Registration is required; Zoom information will be sent in your registration confirmation.

Thanks to our community co-sponsors and the Friends of the Belmont Public Library to make this amazing series of events possible.