Jeffery Robinson, founder and CEO of The Who We Are Project and writer of the documentary “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America,” will be the Rappaport Distinguished Visiting Professor at BC Law for the Fall 2022 semester.
A 1981 graduate of Harvard Law School, Robinson has four decades of experience working on criminal and racial justice issues as a public defender. He worked in private practice with Schroeter Goldmark & Bender for 27 years, representing clients in a plethora of cases, ranging from drug conspiracy to first-degree murder. He then served at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) as a deputy legal director and director of the ACLU’s Trone Center for Justice and Equality.
In addition to being a nationally recognized trial attorney and respected teacher of trial advocacy, Robinson teaches about the history of anti-Black racism all across the United States. One of his lectures, “Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America,” forms the basis of the feature-length documentary of the same name. Wanting to focus on the work, Robinson left the ACLU in March 2021 to launch The Who We Are Project. He created the nonprofit organization to expose the historical truths of anti-Black racism in the United States. He lectures on the topic frequently.
Robinson is a past president of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a winner of the association’s prestigious William O. Douglas Award. He is also a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, and a faculty member of the National Criminal Defense College.
At BC Law, Robinson will participate in a range of programs presented by the Rappaport Center for Law and Public Policy, kicking off the semester with a presentation and discussion of his documentary on September 8 from 7-10 p.m. in East Wing 115 A and B. He will also teach the seminar “Orwell’s Nightmare: United States Law and the Support of Anti-Black Racism.”