Prospective Members

Welcome to the Berkeley Journal of Black Law & Policy (BJBLP)!

BJBLP provides Berkeley Law students the opportunity to edit and publish a scholarly periodical focusing on legal and policy issues of concern to African-Americans. We strive to explore legal issues, expand understandings of legal systems, create and sustain a forum for expression of diverse points of view, provide students with an opportunity to gain law review experience, share information and ideas, and – while acknowledging diversity within the African-American community – promote unity both within the community and outside it.

As a journal member you will be challenged to think critically, edit precisely, publish your own writing, and produce a polished scholarly journal in cooperation with other students. Because BJBLP generally has a smaller membership than many other Berkeley Law journals, new members are involved meaningfully in selecting and editing pieces. All members are encouraged to submit manuscripts for publication. Even though the goal of BJBLP is to address issues salient to African-Americans and the African Diaspora, BJBLP is open to ALL students who are interested.

Membership Requirements

BJBLP depends on the cooperation and good-faith efforts of all its members to ensure the accuracy, quality, and timeliness of each issue. Any student who commits to completing the following requirements may be a member of BJBLP.

General Member Requirements

  1. Members will be expected to assist with editing articles, which includes:
    1. Source Collect: Members will be asked to collect all the sources listed in a particular section of the manuscript.
    2. Primary Edit: Members will be asked to perform a substantive edit of the piece and check citations.
    3. Line Edit: Members will be asked to check for typographical errors, sentence construction, subject-verb agreement, punctuation, and other spelling and grammar issues in a section of the manuscript.
    4. Bluebooking: Members will be asked to make sure all citations conform to the Bluebook.
  2. Pay dues.

Membership for Academic Credit

Second- and third-year students may register to earn a unit of academic credit for Journal membership per semester. To receive the credit, a student must register using the CCN provided by the Managing Editor at the beginning of the semester, and must complete at least 56 verified hours per semester. At Berkeley Law, each student may earn a maximum of two journal units – from any journal – to be applied toward the total required for graduating. If you are interested in receiving academic credit for your work on the journal please see the Managing Editor within the first few weeks of the semester. At the end of the semester the Editor(s)-in-Chief will determine whether the student has actually completed the commitment.