White law school professors need to stop with the goddamned N-word. You’re not being edgy and cool, you’re reifying a system of oppression. Unfortunately, it is an issue Above the Law has covered before, repeatedly.
Now we have another case of a law professor dropping the N-word in class. In an op-ed in the University of Chicago newspaper, law student David Raban describes Professor Geoffrey Stone’s tradition of using the N-word in class as a matter of course every year. According to Raban, in Constitutional Law II: Freedom of Speech Professor Stone told this anecdote from his early teaching career as part of his discussion of Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire:
Professor Stone had asked a Mr. Green (“who happened to be Black”) what he thought of the fighting words doctrine. Mr. Green had said that he felt the doctrine was no longer relevant. The professor then had asked a white student in an adjacent row what he thought of Green’s argument. The white student had said, “That’s the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard, you stupid [N-word].” Green had then immediately lunged forward, attempting to choke the white student.
Upon finishing his story, the professor flashed a grin as he saw many of our shocked faces. He immediately proceeded to make a joke about the topic, presumably to break the tension. I gathered my belongings and walked out of the classroom.
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And, as Raban points out, Stone’s teaching evaluations have been littered with complaints about the tradition for years:
● “I would challenge Prof. Stone to consider how his race and gender influenced his perception of ‘the good old days’ at UChicago…. Having him this quarter, in particular, emphasized how dismissive he is of student concerns as they pertain to inclusion and diversity at the Law school.” (Law School: Constitutional Law II, Winter 2018.)
● “He is a great lecturer…. The only thing I would say was that I think he went way to[o] far when we were on the topic of race. Safe space or no[t], it seemed a little offensive.” (The College: Free Speech and the First Amendment, Winter 2017.)
● “I thought the use of the N-word was gratuitous, even for a free speech class.” (Law School: Constitutional Law II, Winter 2013.)
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So…. everyone in the school has just been cool with this for years? Seriously in 2013, student evals were complaining about using the N-word and… nothing? Raban points out that Black Law Students Association (BLSA) 2L and 3Ls warn one another about Professor Stone, and that there’s been “widespread flight of Black students from Professor Stone’s class.” But none of that appears to matter to the school’s administration.
Raban calls on the law school and Professor Stone to try and make things right:
I urge Professor Stone to reconsider his actions, apologize for what he has said, and reform his pedagogy. I also urge the leadership of the Law School to immediately issue a statement that A) explicitly states what our values are, B) explicitly commits to revoking Professor Stone’s teaching privileges if he continues to speak the N-word inside or outside the classroom, and C) explicitly provides timelines for when it will complete all of the diversity committee’s recommendations.
It seems pretty obvious that this tradition needs to end. Despite knowing about it, they having done anything for YEARS. It’s time for the backlash to begin.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).