Welcome

This site was created in honor of Professor Derrick Bell and in recognition of his unparalleled career as a civil rights attorney, legal scholar, professor and political activist.  It was built to honor Professor Bell’s memory and his legacy by his wife, Janet Dewart Bell, his “adopted daughter” and former student, Lisa Marie Boykin, some of the former Derrick Bell Fellows (Vinay Harpalani, Taja-Nia Henderson, Joy Radice, Anjana Samant and Gabrielle Prisco) and Derrick’s 2011 students at NYU School of Law.  The Black, Latino, Asian Pacific American Law Alumni Association (BLAPA) at NYU School of Law also provided generous support.

Congratulations to Aimee J. Carlisle (’16) and Frances A. Davila (’16) who are the 2015 recipients of the Derrick Bell Scholarship for Public Service which were awarded on Friday, March 27, 2015 at the annual BLAPA Spring Dinner.  Aimee and Frances are pictured below with Derrick Bell’s widow, Janet Dewart Bell, and his two sons, Derrick III and Carter Bell.

The Derrick Bell Lecture on Race in American Society

Please help us endow the Derrick Bell Lecture on Race in American Society by clicking on the Giving tab above and making a contribution today.  If you have any questions about giving, please contact Kelley Spencer at the Office of Alumni Relations and Development:

110 West 3rd Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012-1074
Telephone: (212) 992-7357
E-mail: kelley.spencer@nyu.edu

The 19th annual Derrick Bell Lecture on Race in American Society was held on Wednesday, November 5, 2014 at 6 PM at NYU School of Law in the Greenberg Lounge of Vanderbilt Hall located at 40 Washington Square South, NY, NY 10012.  Professor Stephen B. Bright of Yale Law School and President of the Southern Center for Human Rights presented his lecture titled, “Death Penalty:  Still About Race and Poverty.”  Check out the lecture by clicking below.

Thank you!

Thank you to Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC) for celebrating the legacy of Professor Derrick Bell at their annual conference on Thursday, October 9, 2014 in Los Angeles, CA.  To view the video played at the conference, click below.

To see the longer version of the above film, watch A Tribute to Derrick Bell by Lisa Marie Boykin & Mark T. Chapman

Derrick Bell: Pioneer of the Protest Movement

“We must complain. Yes, plain, blunt complaint, ceaseless agitation, unfailing exposure of dishonesty and wrong– this is the ancient, unerring way to liberty, and we must follow it.”  W.E.B. Du Bois

To learn more about Derrick Bell’s mentor, the late Judge Robert L. Carter, check out the video below: