Please join the University of Pennsylvania Black Law Students Association for our 33rd Annual Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander Commemorative Conference, which celebrates the life of Dr. Alexander, the first Black woman to graduate from Penn Law in 1927. Since 1988, Penn BLSA has held an annual conference to honor Dr. Alexander’s legacy by delving into legal issues that are pertinent to the Black community and committing to progressive legal advocacy.

​February 27, 2021

This year’s Sadie Conference is entitled Hidden Truths: Addressing a 13th Amendment Ambiguity that Created America’s Carceral State will explore the prison abolition movement. Despite the emancipation of the 13th Amendment, Black Americans remain oppressed at the hands of the law. The criminal punishment system today can be traced back to slavery, where prisons are used to maintain and reinforce the disenfranchised state of Black Americans in society. Although the carceral system aims to rehabilitate criminal offenders on its face, in practice, it further reinstates the subjugated status of Black people and preserves a racial capitalist power structure. This year’s conference will explore the prison abolition movement, including discussions regarding its historical analysis, the school-to-prison pipeline, and practical policy making and reform.