Get to Know Angela Onwuachi-Willig!
Institution:
- Boston University School of Law
Number of years as LSA member: 7
Number of LSA Meetings Attended: 9
LSA Governance Position(s) and Committees:
- Inaugural Law and Society Prize Committee for the John Hope Franklin Prize on Race, Racism and the Law (Summer 2010-Spring 2011)
- LSA Board of Trustees (Class of 2021)
Areas of Research:
- Critical Race Theory
- Cultural Trauma
- Anti-discrimination law
- Families and Family Law
Favorite Topics to Teach or Research:
- Employment Discrimination
- Critical Race Theory
Notable Awards:
- Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Clyde Ferguson Award (2015)
- AALS Derrick Bell Award (2006)
- Gertrude Rush Award (2016) from the Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys and the Iowa Chapter of the National Bar Association
- Law and Society’s John Hope Franklin, Jr., Prize (2018)
- William H. Neukom Fellows Research Chair in Diversity and Law at the American Bar Foundation (17-18)
Unique Facts:
- “I am a big fan of the show ‘Survivor.’ I have seen every season, but the first one.”
- Angela has been proactive in calling attention to racism in higher education and beyond. As Dean of Boston University’s School of Law, she posted a remarkable open letter to her students in June, 2020, amidst the death of George Floyd and police brutality. She has since had numerous media appearances (Listed Below) on the topics of seeking racial justice and equality.
Top Books/Articles Published:
- Angela Onwuachi-Willig, According to Our Hearts: Rhinelander v. Rhinelander and the Law of the Multiracial Family, Yale University Press (2013).
- From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin: The Persistence of White Womanhood and the Preservation of White Manhood, 15(2) Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race 257-294 (2018).
- From Protecting Whiteness as Property to Protecting White Property: Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, and Policing the Boundaries of Whiteness, 102 Iowa L. Review. 1113 (2017).
- The Trauma of the Routine: Lessons on Cultural Trauma from the Emmett Till Verdict, 34 Sociological Theory 1 (December 2016).
Recent Media Appearances:
- Amicus podcast with Dahlia Lithwick (Podcast)
- Sunday Extra with Julian Morrow (Podcast)
- The Law Isn’t Neutral – Slate
- Pictures in My Head’: Black Law Deans Take on Racism in Legal Ed – Law.com
- Honor democracy on July 4, but celebrate all Americans’ independence on Election Day – Kansas City Star
- What is Critical Race Theory, President Trump’s Latest Political Target? – The Boston Globe
- POV: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Fought Tirelessly for What She Believed Was Right – Boston University Today
- Seeking Racial Justice, A 2-Day ‘Scholar Strike’ Disrupts Mass. Universities – WBUR
To learn more about Angela, check out her Boston University bio here .