Black Law Students Association (BLSA)

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  Contact BLSA

  • Coriann McMillen: President 
  • Brianna Hines: Vice President
  • Larry Johnson III: Treasurer
  • Tyra Page: Secretary
  • Faculty Advisor  
  • Black Law Students Association email

  Phone Number: 313-596-0236
  Room Number: 137A

  Instagram: @udmlaw_blsa
  Facebook: detroitmercyblsa

Announcements

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  2021 Vegas Night Thank You

  Hello All, 

  On Saturday, March 20, 2021 we hosted our annual Vegas Night Fundraiser. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic we hosted the event virtually to ensure the safety of our community. Although it was virtual, Vegas Night 2021 was HUGE success. Thanks to the wonderful efforts of our members, our community, and our Detroit Mercy Law alumni, we raised $9,980 for our scholarship fund. We cannot thank our supporters enough. We would be remised if we did not mention the donations from Kitch Law Firm, Judge Denise Langford Morris, Judge Marylin E. Atkins, Varnum, LLP, and Dickinson Wright. Without these donations from these individuals and law firms, we would not have reached our goal. Overall, the love and support we received from all of our sponsors and donors went above and beyond our expectations.  

  As you may know, each year, BLSA provides four scholarships to minority students every year: (1) 1L Denise Langford-Morris Scholarship, (2) 1L Book Scholarship, (3) Rising 3L Tuition Scholarship, and (4) 3L Bar Scholarship. Each scholarship is awarded with the hope of offsetting some of the costs associated with law school and admission to the bar. One of our special donors, Judge Marylin E. Atkins, will now fund a scholarship each year as the Rising 3L Scholarship will now be called the Marylin E. Atkins Scholarship. We all know law school is not cheap. We are so happy to have the ability to provide our active BLSA members with a scholarship to help offset the costs of school or the bar exam. We cannot thank the Detroit Mercy Law community and community of Detroit enough for their continued support. We hope to see you all in-person next year! Thank you! 

  Best Regards, 2020-2021 Detroit Mercy Law Black Law Students Association  

   

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  LSAT Study Materials

  If you have any LSAT preparation materials that you no longer use, please consider donating them to BLSA. They will be provided to students preparing to take the LSAT. If you do not attend Detroit Mercy Law and have materials to donate, email BLSA so a pick up arrangement can be made.
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  Open Letter Regarding George Floyd

  An Open Letter from Detroit Mercy Law’s Black Law Students Association:
  

  The members of BLSA are writing to you all to echo the pain and anguish that we are experiencing right now as a result of the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Sean Reed, Tony McDade, and so many other Black Americans. We have repeatedly been failed by a system that is supposed to protect and deliver true justice to us. Recent events have proven to us that, yet again, systematic racism continues to be an overwhelming problem in this country. Black people continuously and disproportionately suffer from police brutality in America.

  We as Detroit Mercy Law BLSA have had enough. We are tired of seeing Black people fighting for their lives and losing. We are tired of being seen as a threat because of the color of our skin. We are tired of living in fear in our homes, in our cars, and in our own neighborhoods. We are absolutely exhausted from begging for our right to life.

  We write to you all to ask that you reassess the disparity in our criminal justice system. We ask that you educate yourselves on the reality of racism and its consequences. We believe it is our duty as law students to be effectively informed and advocate for justice where it truly belongs.

  Furthermore, we stand in solidarity with the actions that Black communities have taken across the country. Prominent Black figures in American history have proven to us that activism, regardless of its
  form, is the key to freedom. Until the color of our skin is no longer a crime, we will continue to fight for that freedom, by any means necessary.

  We demand that the Justice System effectively takes action. We demand that justice be served uniformly. We demand that America recognize the value of our lives, decriminalize the color of our skin, and embrace our humanity.

  We are all collectively experiencing hurt. We are mourning every day. As usual, though, we are expected to show up and perform regardless of the circumstances. This is an unfair burden that we all must bear as we endure the fear and violence that the world is constantly deaf to. We encourage you all to join us in combating the inequity that exists in our country. Here are a few ways to do so:

  1. 1. Donate to the following groups working towards the cause
        1. Black Visions Collective
        2. Reclaim the Block
        3. Northstar Health Collective
        4. LGBTQ Freedom Fund
     2. Sign the following petitions:
        1. NCAA Exploitation No More
        2. Justice for George Floyd on Change.org
        3. Educate yourselves. Utilize any privilege or platform you may have to educate others as well.

  We leave you all with this:
  
  “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

  ― Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from the Birmingham Jail

  Best Regards,
  2020-2021 Detroit Mercy Law Black Law Student Association
  
  President: Deja Davis, 3L
  Vice President: Nadine Dabaja, 3L
  Treasurer: Brandon Wilson, 2L
  Secretary: Danielle Anderson, 2L
  Parliamentarian: Shanice Leach, 2L