About Us

Pictured: (front row) Jacqueline Justice; (second row) Heather Henderson, Jamila Taylor, Hsiu-Ming Tom, Ogechi Amadi, Jemine Mode; (back row) Jumane Redway, Miranda Plummer, Chris Page, Carl Houston, Anwar Burton, Ali Seals, Jermaine Brown, LaMan Dantzler and Gui Bryant. Not Pictured: Emmitt Adair, David Blasher, Trisha Carter, Eulalio Garcia, Cristen Jaynes, Brian Keith Mason, Karl Mourfy, Deborah Neighbors, Alan Nolley, Tiffany Reeves, Laura Salerno and Anita Yan

The University of Oregon Black Law Students Association (Oregon BLSA) is an affiliate of the National Black Law Students Association and a member of the Western Region. We exist to:

1. Give guidance, support and direction to the Black Law students in academic, professional and social endeavors and help promote their goals.
2. To encourage and foster professional competence;
3. To focus upon the relationship between the Black attorney and the American legal structure;
4. To help recruit and retain Black Law students to the University of Oregon Law School;
5. To be a positive force of change within our own community; and
6. To acknowledge the common goals which bond student and professional organizations of color and aspire to foster relationships with these groups.

NBLSA History *
In 1968, Algernon Johnson "A.J." Cooper, former mayor of Prichard Alabama, founded the Black American Law Students Association (BALSA) at the New York University Law School. BALSA's purpose was to effectuate change in the legal system. The association endeavored to sensitize the law and legal profession to the ever-increasing needs of the Black community. This commitment has never wavered.

In 1983, BALSA revised its name. The word "American" was deleted to encompass all Blacks who were not of American nationality. Later, the word "National" was added to reflect the extent to which the organization had expanded.

The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), the largest student-run organization in America, has over 200 chapters at law schools throughout the country. This represents almost every ABA accredited law school, plus several non-accredited law schools. These chapters represent over 6,000 Black law students in six regions which encompass 48 states including Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Recently, NBLSA established international links with Black law students in Canada, England and South Africa who decided to model their student organizations after NBLSA.

NBLSA's societal impact is enormous. In its effort to remain responsive to the needs of the Black community in general and the Black law student in particular, the NBLSA has initiated many worthy programs and is often active in joint-effort programming with other organizations that have goals and objectives analogous to its own.

NBLSA continues to conduct its prestigious Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition and expand its national Adopt-A-School Program. In addition, through its Nelson Mandela Scholarship Program, NBLSA awards six scholarships of over $500.00 each to black law students annually. With emphasis on economic self-help, abolishing apartheid, and forwarding a progressive civil rights position, NBLSA continues its strong commitment to the objectives of the Association. Further, the Association maintains strong ties with the National Bar Association, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, and the National Black Leadership Roundtable.

* from the NBLSA website