Antiracist Teaching and Learning

Antiracist Teaching and Learning equips legal educators to confront structural racism through intentional, practice-ready pedagogy. Developed in collaboration with the Antiracist Development Institute at Penn State Dickinson Law, this timely guide challenges faculty to recognize how legal education can either reinforce or disrupt systemic inequities.

Organized into four parts, the book first establishes core platform methodologies for change, including the systems design approach to teaching, critical pedagogy, and reimagined classroom hierarchies. It then offers concrete tools for solo-educator and clinical courses as well as multi-instructor ones, from reflective practice and racial identity development models to critical research instruction and foundational curriculum reform. The final section addresses outcomes, feedback, and how to sustain antiracist commitments in the face of resistance.

Accessible and action-oriented, this resource empowers educators to redesign learning outcomes, reshape classroom culture, and take on the important responsibility of preparing future lawyers to dismantle injustice within the legal system.

Nicole P. Dyszlewski is Assistant Dean for Curricular Innovation and Professor at Roger Williams University School of Law. She coedits the Integrating Doctrine and Diversity series, coauthored Race and the Foundations of American Law, and cohosts the Law 401 podcast.

Dermot Groome is Associate Director Emeritus of the Antiracist Development Institute, Professor of Law, and Harvey A. Feldman Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Penn State Dickinson Law.

Contents

Introduction

Nicole P. Dyszlewski

Part I. Platforms Supporting Antiracist Teaching and Learning

     1. The Systems Design Approach to Antiracist Teaching

     Tomar Pierson-Brown

     2. Critical Pedagogy and Antiracist Legal Education

     Dermot Groome

     3. Reimagining the Law School Classroom: A General Illustration

     Jill C. Engle

Part II. Tools and Methods Supporting Antiracist Teaching and Learning in Solo-Educator and Clinical Courses

     4. Reflective Practice for Antiracist Teaching and Learning

     Lucy Johnston-Walsh and Medha D. Makhlouf

     5. Reflective Tools and Practices to Be Emotionally Present for Difficult Classroom Conversations

     Anita Ortiz Maddali

     6. Graphic Narratives and the Construction of Antiracist Legal Pedagogy

     Almas Khan

     7. Developing Antiracist Professional Identity Through Use of Racial Identity Development Models

     Andrew King-Ries and Monte Mills

     8. Critical Approaches to Legal Research Instruction

     Julia M. Tedjeske Crane

     9. Antiracist Clinical Legal Education

     Lucy Johnston-Walsh

Part III. Tools and Methods Supporting Antiracist Teaching and Learning in Required and Elective Multi-Educator Courses

     10. Race and the Foundations of American Law

     Nicole P. Dyszlewski, Diana Hassel, and Nadiyah Humber

     11. Lessons Learned from Boston College Law School’s Required 1L Critical Perspectives Course

     Cheryl Bratt and Reena Parikh

Part IV. Outcomes from Antiracist Teaching and Learning

     12. Words Matter

     Keeshea Turner Roberts

     13. Standing Your Ground on Integrating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Classroom

     Melinda Sommers Molina

     14. Feedback or Expressions of Bias?

     Mireille Rebeiz

Conclusion

Dermot Groome

Suggested Readings

Contributors

Index