National Black Law Students Association
Encyclopedia
The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), founded in 1968, is a nationwide organization formed to articulate and promote the needs and goals of black law students and effectuates change in the legal community. As the largest student run organization in the country with over 6,000 members, NBLSA includes chapters or affiliates in six different countries including The Bahamas, Nigeria, and South Africa. NBLSA encourages the development of talented, social conscious lawyers of tomorrow. NBLSA help start the Black Law Students Association of Canada (BLSAC), The National Latino/Latina Student Association (NLLSA), National Association of Law Students with Disabilities (NALSD), and The National Asian Pacific American Law Student Association (NAPALSA). The headquarters of NBLSA is located in Washington, D.C.
. Organized into six regions (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Mid-West, Rocky Mountain and Western Region) the organization has over 200 chapters and is present in all but a few of the nation's accredited law schools, as well as unaccredited law schools. Each year, the organization holds an annual convention to engage in legal activism and while preparing new generations of black lawyers to "effectuate change." Additionally, the Frederick Douglass
Moot Court
and Thurgood Marshall
Mock Trial
Competitions are held during its Annual Convention.
In 1968, Algernon Johnson Cooper, former mayor of Prichard, Alabama
, founded the first Black American Law Students Association at the New York University
Law School. In 1983, BALSA revised its name and the word "American" was deleted to encompass all blacks, including those not of American nationality. Later, the word "National" was added to reflect the organization's national expansion, which now includes representation in the law schools of forty-eight states and Puerto Rico
.
Tiffany Munsell, a third year law student at Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis was the National Chair for the 2009-2010 term. The Association has ties with the National Bar Association
, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, The National Black Alliance, and the National Black Leadership Roundtable. However, the most important affiliation and duty this organization has is to the black community—nationally and abroad. The theme for the 2009-10 term is "Awareness. Advocacy. Activism." The organization has witnessed a surge in social activism in recent years. NBLSA has followed and taken action on the Genarlow Wilson case, the Jena Six controversy, the Seattle and Louisville Cases, as well as other popular controversial legal issues (such as the American Bar Associations 301-6 Bar Passage Standard Proposal and Proposing Accessible and Affordable Education through Student Lending Reform). The year 2010 marks the 42nd Anniversary of the organization. Until his death in 1993, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
was the honorary national chair.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Organized into six regions (Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southern, Mid-West, Rocky Mountain and Western Region) the organization has over 200 chapters and is present in all but a few of the nation's accredited law schools, as well as unaccredited law schools. Each year, the organization holds an annual convention to engage in legal activism and while preparing new generations of black lawyers to "effectuate change." Additionally, the Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
Moot Court
Moot court
A moot court is an extracurricular activity at many law schools in which participants take part in simulated court proceedings, usually to include drafting briefs and participating in oral argument. The term derives from Anglo Saxon times, when a moot was a gathering of prominent men in a...
and Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
Mock Trial
Mock trial
A Mock Trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisting of volunteers as role players to test theories or...
Competitions are held during its Annual Convention.
In 1968, Algernon Johnson Cooper, former mayor of Prichard, Alabama
Prichard, Alabama
Prichard is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, in the United States.Prichard borders the north side of Mobile, as well as the Mobile suburbs of Chickasaw, Alabama, Saraland, Alabama, and the unincorporated sections of Eight Mile, Alabama. As of 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the...
, founded the first Black American Law Students Association at the New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
Law School. In 1983, BALSA revised its name and the word "American" was deleted to encompass all blacks, including those not of American nationality. Later, the word "National" was added to reflect the organization's national expansion, which now includes representation in the law schools of forty-eight states and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Tiffany Munsell, a third year law student at Indiana University School of Law - Indianapolis was the National Chair for the 2009-2010 term. The Association has ties with the National Bar Association
National Bar Association
The National Bar Association was established in 1925 as the "Negro Bar Association" after Gertrude Rush, George H. Woodson, S. Joe Brown, James B. Morris, and Charles P. Howard, Sr. were denied membership in the American Bar Association. It represents the interests of African-American attorneys in...
, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, The National Black Alliance, and the National Black Leadership Roundtable. However, the most important affiliation and duty this organization has is to the black community—nationally and abroad. The theme for the 2009-10 term is "Awareness. Advocacy. Activism." The organization has witnessed a surge in social activism in recent years. NBLSA has followed and taken action on the Genarlow Wilson case, the Jena Six controversy, the Seattle and Louisville Cases, as well as other popular controversial legal issues (such as the American Bar Associations 301-6 Bar Passage Standard Proposal and Proposing Accessible and Affordable Education through Student Lending Reform). The year 2010 marks the 42nd Anniversary of the organization. Until his death in 1993, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
was the honorary national chair.