Projects
Dismantling the Intent Requirement
In partnership with the University of Hawai’i School of Law and the Equal Justice Society, the Henderson Center is currently directing a Scholar Advocacy program that engages law students in critical legal and policy analysis, efforts to develop new legal theories, and interaction with social science academics, media, and civil rights advocates. A symposium on “Reclaiming and Reframing the Dialogue about Race and Racism” presented the initial phase of this research on November 1-2, 2007.
Boalt in New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region and launched the nation into a debate about race, class, and privilege. These issues have become even more pronounced in the effort to rebuild that region, and New Orleans in particular. In partnership with the California Center for Environmental Law & Policy, the Henderson Center is working with students and community stakeholders to engage in a critical analysis of legal and policy barriers to equitably rebuilding New Orleans. Students will produce research papers on topics ranging from disaster response planning and international human rights to residential return obstacles and education. Papers will be presented to community stakeholders in Spring 2008.
Community University Research and Action for Justice (CURAJ)
California’s Central Valley, one of the richest agricultural areas in the entire world, has produced the worst poverty in our nation. In the fall of 2005 the Henderson Center launched this initiative with a symposium that brought together academics, lawyers, community activists, and policy makers to discuss strategies for alleviating the conditions of poverty in the Central Valley. From that symposium the Community-University Research and Action for Justice (CURAJ), a partnership of the Henderson Center, UC Davis, UC Sacramento Center, UC Merced, and legal and community organizations in the Central Valley, was born. CURAJ provides a bridge between UC and the organizations working to alleviate poverty in the Valley and facilitates community engaged research that highlights solutions to rural poverty.
Gary Bellow Scholars Project
This research project was initiated when Henderson Center’s Faculty Director, Mary Louise Frampton, and Jeff Selbin were named Bellow Scholars by the AALS Public Interest Committee to honor clinical pioneer Gary Bellow and to encourage faculty to engage in anti-poverty research. The project generates empirical data to assist legal services practitioners in evaluating the effectiveness of their delivery models, thus enhancing the representation that low-income clients receive. The most recent study evaluated the East Bay Community Law Center’s Clean Slate Project that provides legal assistance to clients whose criminal records have placed obstacles in their paths.