Law school symposium to mark centennial of landmark race-based zoning case

LOUISVILLE, KY. – The Brandeis School of Law will mark the centennial of Buchanan V. Warley, a landmark Supreme Court decision that eliminated Louisville’s race-based zoning ordinance, with a national symposium titled “Racial Justice in Zoning: 100 Years after Buchanan.”

“The impact of Buchanan is still felt today. Buchanan is an example of the present-day effects of structural inequality,” said law Professor Cedric Merlin Powell, one of the organizers of the event. “Although race-based zoning was ruled unconstitutional, we still see racially segregated housing across the country and here in Louisville. At this event, we will explore factors that contribute to that segregation, such as zoning laws, development regulations and redlining. We will also hear views from scholars on the way forward.”

The symposium is 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, at the Brandeis School of Law, Room 275, Belknap Campus.

The symposium will explore current racial injustices in land use, housing and environmental conditions, as well as the history of race and zoning in the U.S. and Louisville.

The keynote speaker, Sheryll Cashin, a law professor at Georgetown University and an active member of the Poverty and Race Research Action Council, will discuss “Integration as a Means of Restoring Democracy and Opportunity.”

The event will feature four sessions with presentations from eight nationally renowned scholars, including four from UofL, as well as a presentation on redlining in Louisville. Session topics include: “The History of Race, Zoning, and Buchanan Case” and “Contemporary Perspectives on the Persistence of Racial Inequality in Land Use.”

The symposium is sponsored by the Brandeis School of Law, with support from the Caudill-Little Speakers Fund, and co-sponsored by the Anne Braden Institute for Social Justice Research at the University of Louisville.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information visit http://events.louisville.edu/event/buchanan_v_warley_symposium#.Wd5pyRNSyV4

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