Dean At Elite Law School Apologizes For 'Offensive Characterizations'

His books perpetuated a culture of racism and misogyny.

Dear Members of the Michigan Law Community,

As you know, for the last year or so, we as an institution have been grappling with the structural racism in American life and with our own role in addressing it. At the same time, I have been reflecting on choices I have made that are, quite simply, part of the problem. During the last few days, some students have questioned whether my work product is consistent with my support for our efforts to make Michigan Law an inclusive institution—along dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sex, among others. I write today in an effort to restore trust: to apologize for the ways in which my choices have hurt members of our community. I could have—should have—done better. I’ve hurt members of our community, they’ve told me so, and I’m devastated that my actions had those consequences. In this situation, anyone, but especially one in a position of leadership, should do the work of reflecting and apologizing. I am sorry.

From the start, my legal career has focused on the law of Japan—before I became an academic, I practiced corporate law in Tokyo. My path there started in high school, when I was exposed to written Chinese and told it was too difficult for me to learn. I resolved to try, but my college didn’t offer Chinese. It offered Japanese, which borrows characters from Chinese, so I took that. Around the same time, I became interested in law, and because I had studied Japanese, I became interested in Japanese law. I was particularly interested in analyzing the role of law in a culture so different than the one in which I had been raised. While I believe that we must at least attempt to learn how other people view the world, I certainly don’t always get everything right in pursuit of those goals.

One thing that I got unequivocally wrong: some of my book covers. I understand the pain I have caused by giving tangible form through those covers to the often-invisible experiences of racism and sexism some of you have experienced in your own lives. I didn’t actively interrogate historical racism and hurtful stereotypes or damaging depictions of gender roles—instead I sometimes traded in those stereotypes and reproduced those depictions. My doing so contributed to a narrative that promotes a two-dimensional and offensive characterization of people, and especially women; it suggests that women should think of themselves in ways that are lesser. Further, it reinforces a view of women founded on damaging stereotypes. And while contributing to a harmful narrative was not my intent or understanding at the time, I understand it now, and I understand that my intent does not excuse or lessen the harm.

I began actively working to change the covers last spring. In 2005, when the publisher and I initially discussed the artwork for my Scandal book, I saw the photo that was proposed as “edgy,” but I simply didn’t consider it in the context of reifying racist and sexist tropes. Over the years, I found myself increasingly uncomfortable with the image, but I assumed the book would go out of print soon and that this would take care of the issue. Waiting for that, however, became increasingly untenable—so now, the publisher has removed the artwork from its website, and I am told that on Monday it will be replaced with new artwork. (In an apt metaphor for the staying power for this kind of harm, I recognize that these steps won’t eliminate the problem—the cover will still be present on Amazon and so on for some time.) I am also working with other publishers to change the artwork on the covers of other books I have written. Frankly, I had never really devoted much thought to any individual book cover—and I had never considered what my books look like when they’re placed next to each other. I wish I would have recognized all of this earlier, and I am sorry that I didn’t.

At 1L Orientation, I challenge students to ask themselves, “What if I’m wrong?” It’s an important question, central to growth, both for individuals and for communities. It is important for all of us to ask that question and to be responsible enough to answer it. It should go without saying that I share this obligation. I am constantly growing and evolving, as a human, a scholar, and in my leadership role. Learning and doing the work to understand and to challenge the sexism and racism that permeates our society requires looking inward and outward. I hope that all of us—faculty, staff, and students—consider law school, and especially this law school, to be a shared journey. These issues are broad and thorny and require the kind of institutional reforms that we must continue to work to implement. I will do my best to continue to lead with humility, honesty, and integrity to resolve our internal inconsistencies as we move our community forward.

Best,
MDW

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