Herma Hill Kay Memorial Lecture | Constitutional Preconditions Featuring Martha Minow

Beneath growing perceptions of constitutional crisis and democratic fragility in the United States lies a fundamental conundrum. Critical preconditions for effective self-government are either weak or missing in action, and our constitutional system at least for now stands in the way of actions to strengthen or build those preconditions. In tribute to Herma Hill Kay’s inspiring leadership, this lecture will focus on three essential predicates for constitutional democracy that face jeopardy: education, reliable news, and security against lethal violence. As basic as these elements may be, repeated efforts to secure a federal constitutional right to education have failed in the courts. Because of a confluence of legal, technological, and economic problems, once vibrant newspapers and magazines in the United States are rapidly shrinking or closing. Deaths and injuries due to guns mount yearly and courts block reform efforts to advance human safety. Why are these preconditions for self-government? Why are even earnest efforts at fortifying them blocked? And what are promising ways forward?

Martha Minow has taught at Harvard Law School since 1981, where she served as dean for eight years. Her courses include civil procedure, constitutional law, fairness and privacy, family law, international criminal justice, jurisprudence, law and education, nonprofit organizations, and the public law workshop. An expert in human rights and advocacy for members of racial and religious minorities and for women, children, and persons with disabilities, she also writes and teaches about digital communications, democracy, privatization, military justice, and ethnic and religious conflict. Currently she teaches Fairness and Privacy: Perspectives from Law and Probability (offered in both the law school and the school of engineering and applied sciences), Nonprofit Organizations, and Constitutional Law.

Her books include Saving the News: Why The Constitution Calls for Government Action to Preserve the Freedom of Speech (2021); When Should Law Forgive? (2019); In Brown’s Wake: Legacies of America’s Constitutional Landmark (2010); Partners, Not Rivals: Privatization and the Public Good (2002; and Between Vengeance and Forgiveness: Facing History After Genocide and Mass Violence (1998). Recent publications include “Distrust of Artificial Intelligence: Sources and Responses from Computer Science and Law,” with Cynthia Dwork, Daedalus (2022), https://www.amacad.org/sites/default/files/publication/downloads/Daedalus_Sp22_22_Dwork-%26-Minow.pdf, and “Social Media, Distrust, and Regulation,” with Newton Minow, Nell Minow, and Mary Minow, in Lee. C. Bolling and Geoffrey R. Stone, eds., Social Media, Freedom of Speech, and the Future of Our Democracy (2022).

Minow served as Dean of Harvard Law School between 2009 and 2017 and as the inaugural Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor. She was appointed to the post of 300th Anniversary University Professor in 2018 as one of 25 individuals recognized for groundbreaking work crossing the boundaries of multiple disciplines, and authorized to pursue research and teaching at any of Harvard’s Schools.

About the Herma Hill Kay Memorial Lecture

The Herma Hill Kay Memorial Lecture was created by a generous seed gift from Professor Pamela Samuelson and her husband Dr. Robert Glushko. The annual lecture honors the iconic pioneer who taught at Berkeley Law for 57 years and was its first female dean. She died in 2017 at age 82.

Herma Hill Kay was a Berkeley Law institution. The school’s second woman faculty member, Herma became a popular professor and renowned scholar of family law, conflicts of law, and sex-based discrimination. A powerful advocate for diversity in legal education and women’s rights, she published numerous articles and book chapters on divorce, adoption, and reproductive rights.