Justin Driver, a constitutional law expert whose new book was chosen as an editor’s choice selection by the New York Times, will deliver the annual Derrick Bell Lecture Feb.19 at the University of Oregon School of Law.
Driver is the Robert L. Slaughter Professor of Law at Yale Law School. His talk, titled “Action After Affirmative Action,” will explore the themes he writes about in his book, The Fall of Affirmative Action: Race, the Supreme Court and the Future of Higher Education. That includes an analysis of SFFA v. Harvard, which he sees as neither a triumph of conservative colorblindness nor the end of racial equity. He will also offer a blueprint for new pathways to inclusion in higher education and broader American society.
The event will take place from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. in the Campbell Auditorium, Room 175, at the Knight Law Center, and via livestream.
“I am honored and thrilled to deliver this year’s Derrick Bell Lecture. I have studied and admired Bell’s scholarship for many years now, and the issues that he brought to the fore during his career retain great relevance in contemporary America,” Driver said. “In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision eliminating affirmative action, it is imperative to explore concrete steps that universities can take in pursuing racial justice.”
The Derrick Bell Lecture is a collaboration between Oregon Law and the university’s Division of Equity and Inclusion. A part of the annual African American Workshop and Lecture Series, it is also sponsored by the Office of the President.
Driver teaches and writes in the field of constitutional law, with a distinguished publication record in the nation’s leading law reviews. He was appointed by President Joe Biden to serve on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, is an elected member of the American Law Institute, and is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Prior to his academic career, Driver served as a law clerk at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and at the U.S. Supreme Court.
Derrick Bell was Oregon Law’s first Black dean, serving from 1981-85, and a national thought leader on civil rights and the understanding of racism and American law. He is considered one of the most influential voices in the foundation of Critical Race Theory, a framework that examines society and culture as they connect to race, law and power.
For more information on the talk or to access the livestream, visit the Oregon Law website.