In a nation where the U.S. census points to 2042 as the precise year when minorities will be the new majority, just how is our collective understanding of diversity evolving? Many look to the law for perspective on race relations as it reinterprets the 1868 constitutional guarantee of equal protection.
According to Stacy Hawkins, an assistant professor at Rutgers Law–Camden, we no longer think about discrimination in the same terms we did in 1868. “How we define equal protection has changed dramatically over time. Our ideas about equal protection are constantly evolving and shifting. I argue that these shifts are informed by socio/political context,” explains Hawkins, who teaches the course “Diversity and the Law” at Rutgers Law–Camden, and will soon publish the article “Diversity, Democracy & Pluralism” with the Mercer Law Review.
In her forthcoming article Hawkins writes, “Legal scholars have been locked in a long-running debate over equal protection…We are now called upon to embrace the next step on our constitutional journey toward the full and ‘equal protection of the law’ for all persons.”
In class, the topic remains complex in scope, paramount cases that impact affirmative action, gay rights, and immigration are explored, and articles by top legal scholars on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ever-changing views on equal protection are read and discussed, but the tone remains conversational, even light-hearted at times. Recently, Hawkins even “outed” herself as a Trekkie to use the Borg as a way to talk to law students about the tension between national unity and individual identity.
“There’s always a tension between with what we can demand as individuals and what we must accommodate as a nation,” she offers. Her students, who represent various points of view, are equally eager to contribute to the dialogue on discrimination, even when the conversation might extend outside the reach of law.
“I try to identify which parts of the problems we discuss can be redressed through the rule of law or which are better reserved for the political process,” she says, but acknowledges that being passionate in class of course has its merits regardless of the individual point of view. And Hawkins can very much relate: teaching on a topic that she researches is extremely gratifying as a scholar. She also finds it helpful for students.
“Students get deep and meaningful insights on the areas of law we study,” notes Hawkins, who recalls how a class with a similar approach at Georgetown inspired her to pursue this particular area of law.
Being part of a class with various, strong points of view is something that Rutgers Law–Camden 3L Aysha Ames especially values. “This class has thoroughly expanded my views on diversity and the law,” she says. “Prior to class I only had one perspective, but after learning the perspective of my classmates, the professor, and the scholars that we read, I am able to appreciate many other views. Prof. Hawkins helps to make this complicated material more understandable and interesting.”