The 2008 Presidential Election and the Future of Civil Rights in America: A Free and Open-to-the-Public Roundtable Discussion Cleveland-Marshall College of Law

The Presidential candidacy of Senator Barack Obama is unlike any other in the history of the United States. Senator Obama is the first African American to present a serious challenge to the cultural and racial profile of past American presidents. Whether Senator Obama wins or loses, his candidacy has registered powerfully on the American consciousness and will leave an indelible mark on our country’s history.

On November 7, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law will hold a free public roundtable discussion on the implications of the historic 2008 presidential election for race relations and racial equality in the United States. The program begins at 1:00 PM and concludes at 4:45 PM at the law school on East 18th and Euclid Avenue.

The law school has applied to the Ohio Supreme Court for permission to grant 3.5 free hours of Continuing Legal Education credits for this program.

Roundtable participants include Syracuse College of Law Professor Kevin Noble Maillard, University of Miami School of Law Professor Osamudia James, St John’s University School of Law Professor Melinda Molina, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Professor Michael Borden, Rutgers-Camden School of Law Professor of Law and Justice David Troutt, and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Professor Reginald Oh, who organized the roundtable. All speakers have taught, researched, lectured on, and/or practiced in the area of multiculturalism and race and the law.

The roundtable will be divided into two parts, a discussion the role that historical and racial factors played in shaping the outcome of the 2008 presidential race followed by a discussion of the potential impact the race may have in shaping race relations and the law of equality in an increasingly multicultural America.

This Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Roundtable commemorates the 40th anniversary of several civil rights milestones and tragedies: In 1968, Congress enacted the Fair Housing Act, a federal statute prohibiting racial discrimination in housing; the city of Cleveland elected its first black mayor; the United States Supreme Court rendered the landmark school desegregation decision Green v. New Kent County and imposed an affirmative duty on school districts to integrate its schools; and, tragically, that year both Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated.

For more information on Cleveland-Marshall College of Law visit our website: www.law.csuohio.edu or call 216.687.6886.

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