Roger Brooke Taney (Image via Getty)
The University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School is finally doing away with an overt sign of racism on its campus — and we hope you’re not too disappointed, because Professor Amy Wax has absolutely nothing to do with it for once.
Penn Law will be removing the name of former Supreme Court chief justice, Roger Brooke Taney, from a limestone medallion on the exterior of the school’s main building. If you recall, Taney is the justice who wrote the majority opinion in Dred Scott, which upheld slavery in the United States.
What Biglaw Can Learn From Personal Injury Firms
How a former insurance agent built a Houston injury practice around systems, empathy, and disciplined advocacy.
Reuters has the details on how the school came to this decision:
The decision to remove Taney’s name was approved by former university president Amy Gutmann in February, but was not made public until last week.
Law dean Theodore Ruger in July 2020 pledged to examine the medallion and other names on the law school campus as part of a series of anti-racist initiatives the school unveiled following the murder of George Floyd and nationwide protests over racism. …
The task force researched Taney and his inclusion on the building, and gathered public input before recommending removing his name, according to a report in the campus publication Penn Today,
As noted by Penn Today, only two people, both of whom were students, disagreed with making the change. The task force has recommended that the law school wait a decade before determining which name should replace Taney’s on the medallion.
Congratulations to Penn Law for literally erasing racism from its walls.
AI Is Reshaping Legal Practice—But Tools Aren’t The Real Differentiator.
Explore the mindset, cultural shifts, and training strategies that define the AI‑savvy lawyer, revealing why human judgment, standardized competence, and integrated learning—not technology alone—will shape the future of the profession.
Penn Law to remove name of controversial Supreme Court justice from building [Reuters]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.