Howard University School of Law

Howard University School of Law
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Name	Howard University School of Law
Established	1869
Type	Private law school
Parent	Howard University
Dean	Danielle Holley
City	Washington, D.C.
Country	United States
Website	https://law.howard.edu/

Howard University School of Law

The Howard University School of Law is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black university in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1869, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States and has been a central institution in the training of African-American lawyers and legal scholars. Its mission has been intrinsically linked to the advancement of civil rights and social justice, producing generations of attorneys who have shaped American law and the Civil Rights Movement.

History and Founding

Howard University School of Law was established in 1869 by a group of trustees of Howard University, which itself was founded just two years prior in 1867. The law school's creation was part of the post-Civil War Reconstruction era effort to provide professional education to newly freed African Americans. Its first dean was John Mercer Langston, a pioneering African-American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who was also one of the first black men admitted to the Ohio bar. The school initially operated with very limited resources, holding its first classes in the basement of the university's main building. Despite early financial struggles, it was committed to a mission of educating students "for the purpose of supplying the colored people of the United States with a competent and learned profession of its own race." This foundational principle established the school as a critical pipeline for black legal professionals into a segregated American legal system.

Role in the Civil Rights Movement

Howard University School of Law served as the intellectual and strategic nerve center for much of the legal campaign against racial segregation in the 20th century. Under the leadership of Dean Charles Hamilton Houston in the 1930s and 1940s, the school implemented a rigorous "social engineering" curriculum designed to train lawyers as "social engineers" who would attack the legal foundations of Jim Crow laws. Houston and his star pupil, Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, developed the legal strategy that would dismantle *Plessy v. Ferguson*'s "separate but equal" doctrine. Faculty and students, often working through the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), conducted critical research and drafted briefs for landmark cases. The school's moot court room was famously used as a rehearsal space for arguments in *Brown v. Board of Education*, the 1954 case that declared state-sponsored school segregation unconstitutional. This direct involvement cemented the law school's reputation as the "West Point of Civil Rights."

Notable Alumni and Faculty

The school boasts an unparalleled roster of alumni and faculty who have been instrumental in civil rights, law, and politics. Its most famous graduate is Thurgood Marshall, the architect of *Brown v. Board* and a Supreme Court Justice. Other distinguished alumni include former Vernon Jordan, a civil rights leader and presidential advisor; Patricia Roberts Harris, the first African-American woman to serve in a U.S. Cabinet position; and current Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and person of color to hold that office. Notable faculty have included deans like Charles Hamilton Houston, whose tenure transformed the school, and Spottswood William Robinson III, a future judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Contemporary influential scholars such as Taunya Lovell Banks and the late Derrick Bell, a founder of critical race theory, have also taught at the institution.

Academic Programs and Clinical Training

Howard University School of Law offers a Juris Doctor (J.D.) program, as well as Master of Laws (LL.M.) degrees in both Human Rights Law and Clinical Law. True to its social justice mission, the curriculum emphasizes public interest law, civil rights, and clinical education. Students gain hands-on legal experience through in-house clinics that provide pro bono representation to underserved communities in the Washington, D.C., area. These clinics cover areas including the Criminal Justice Clinic, Fair Housing Clinic, Immigration Clinic, and the Juvenile Justice Clinic. The school also houses the Human Rights and Globalization Law Review and offers extensive externship opportunities with federal agencies, courts, and non-profit organizations in the nation's capital. This practical training ensures graduates are practice-ready advocates for justice.

Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center

A cornerstone of the law school's modern work is the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center, established to honor its most illustrious alumnus. The Center serves as a multidisciplinary hub for advocacy, research, and scholarship focused on contemporary civil rights issues. It engages in impact litigation, public policy advocacy, and community organizing, tackling problems such as voting rights, police accountability, educational equity, and economic justice. The Center trains the next generation of civil rights lawyers through its fellowship programs and integrates its work directly into the law school's academic and clinical programs. It continues the legacy of Thurgood Marshall and Charles Hamilton Houston by applying strategic legal action to combat systemic inequality in the 21st century.

Impact on Legal Education and Diversity

Howard University School of Law has had a profound impact on the landscape of American legal education and the diversity of the legal profession. It is consistently ranked as a top producer of the United States. It has consistently produced a significant proportion of the United States|American Bar Association|American legal profession. The school has consistently graduated a significant impact on Legal Education and Diversity ==

The school has had a Civil Rights Movement|American Bar Association|American law school, the United States. The school has had a Law School of Law, the school has had a significant impact on Legal Education and Law School of Law, and the school.