Remembering Black Lives, Celebrating Black History Month

Black History Month is just one time of year but the spirit of what it means lives throughout the work we do here at RWU Law. RWU Law has a longstanding commitment to non-discrimination, diversity, and inclusion.  

Since June 2020, the RWU Law Library has been working to create a Black Lives Matter resource guide for our students and our community. This guide is a community effort and contains resources recommended by faculty, staff, and students. This guide is a living work which will continue to grow and develop. The RWU Law Library is committed to working to supplement its collection in the areas of antiracism, criminal justice reform, and culturally responsive pedagogy. This month, and throughout the year.

As researchers, we also celebrate the work others have done across the country to create content and build resources on these issues. While you may know the names George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, you may not know that names of other Black people killed in the U.S. by police and by civilians. The records for this information are not easily accessible and well-kept throughout history but some organizations are trying to keep more accurate lists to memorialize these people’s lives.

One such organization, #Say Their Names, has created an incomplete but growing list of names. As of this writing, there are the 173 names on their website for us to learn who they were and how they died.