Commentary: Annette Gordon-Reed: On Juneteenth

Annette Gordon-Reed, our friend and colleague for 17 years at New York Law School, has just published On Juneteenth (Liveright 2021), a personal and readable story of her growing up in Texas in the 1970’s.  Gordon-Reed grew up in Conroe, Texas where her family regularly celebrated Juneteenth. Gordon-Reed was the first Black child to integrate a White elementary school in her city. Through her personal story Gordon-Reed annotates and re-calibrates the conventional story of slavery … <Read More>


CityLand Resources on Police Misconduct, Justice Reform, and Protests


On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was killed by a Police Officer while in custody of the Minneapolis Police Department. Floyd’s death has garnered a national response and has sparked groups of individuals all across the nation to gather in streets, parks and open spaces to protest systemic racism, police brutality and the injustices felt by the black community.  Floyd’s death and several other similar events have reinvigorated the discussion on law enforcement policy, criminal … <Read More>


Remembering Nicholas Scoppetta

Nicholas Scoppetta, who passed away in March at age 83, represented the best in the City’s civic life. He often attended New York Law School events and was the featured speaker at a CityLaw Breakfast on September 12, 1997. At that time he headed the Administration for Children’s Services, and was deep in litigation with advocates for children who wanted the federal court to take over his agency. Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani had appointed Scoppetta … <Read More>