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“HONORING THE LIFE OF DERRICK A. BELL, JR.” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1807-E1808 on Oct. 7, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE LIFE OF DERRICK A. BELL, JR.
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HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Friday, October 7, 2011
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life of civil rights legal scholar, Derrick Bell. As a respected attorney, scholar, war veteran and mentor, Mr. Bell lived his life believing that change only occurs when we take risks.
Mr. Bell was a man of many firsts. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh Law School, where he was the only black student, Mr. Bell would eventually become the first tenured black professor at Harvard Law School. He later became Dean of the University of Oregon School of Law, becoming the first African-American to ever head a non-black law school. His willingness to be a pioneer was a reflection of his unwillingness to exchange personal position for the core principle of pursuing equity for all.
Mr. Bell's resolve to stand on principle was seen throughout his career. As a newly minted attorney in his 20s, selected to work at the Civil Rights Division of the United States Justice Department, Mr. Bell was told to relinquish his NAACP membership, which his superiors believed posed a conflict of interest. Mr. Bell, instead, did the opposite and quit the Justice Department. While perhaps a shock to some, Mr. Bell would ultimately resign as Dean at Oregon over a dispute about faculty diversity. In his 2002 memoir, ``Ethical Ambition,'' Mr. Bell recalled how his actions appeared to associates as ``futile and foolish.'' But he publicly declared the importance of living ``a life of meaning and worth.''
Mr. Bell is perhaps best known for his tenure at Harvard Law School, which began in 1969 after protests by black students for a minority faculty member. While at Harvard, Bell established a new course in civil rights law, published a leading legal textbook, ``Race, Racism and American Law,'' and rejected the dry legal analytics, which dominated legal scholarship, in favor of allegorical stories and parables. In 1986, he orchestrated a five-day sit-in to protest the school's failure to grant tenure to two professors. Mr. Bell's challenge to the legal orthodoxy served as inspiration to Harvard Law students, and President Barack Obama compared him to civil rights hero Rosa Parks while attending a rally as a student at Harvard Law. Mr. Bell ultimately left the law school in 1990 over principle and concluded his career at NYU Law School. He summed up his actions in a speech to Harvard students, saying, ``Your faith in what you believe must be a living, working faith that draws you away from comfort and security, and toward risk through confrontation.'' Mr. Bell believed that it would be hypocritical to urge his students to defy what is unjust, while not practicing his own precepts.
Largely credited as the originator of critical race theory, Mr. Bell explored the nuances that exist in race-relations. Known as a soft-
spoken gentleman, the professor unapologetically challenged conservatives and liberals, alike, on shared societal beliefs concerning race in America. While many viewed the 1954 desegregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education as monumental in the fight towards equality, Mr. Bell wrote that in light of the consequences of Brown, conditions for minorities might have worked out better if the court had instead ordered governments to provide both races with truly equivalent schools. Mr. Bell focused on motives just as much as outcomes, and while he generally supported litigation, he also cautioned that seemingly favorable rulings often yield disappointing results. His discourse prepared and empowered us to fight beyond court decisions and dig deeper into the implementation of policies which affect underrepresented communities.
Mr. Bell will always be revered as a genuine, authentic champion in the struggle for civil rights. Robert Frost famously stated that ``Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.'' We are all honored that Derrick Bell took the road less traveled, for his contributions have truly inspired others to make a difference.
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