Hidden Truths: Addressing a 13th Amendment Ambiguity that Created America’s Carceral State
February 27, 2021
The Dr. Sadie T. M. Alexander Commemorative Conference, honors the life and legacy of the first Black woman to graduate from Penn Law in 1927. This year’s Conference, 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 disenfranchized 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. Register now!


​Thank You Penn BLSA Sponsors!

Penn BLSA is honored to have the support of several esteemed law firms. Without the generous contributions of our sponsors, the Dr. Sadie T.M. Alexander Commemorative Conference—and other missions critical to Penn BLSA initiatives such as our service trip, mentoring program, and professionalism events—would not be possible. Thank you to all of our sponsors for your continued support and allyship. 

Advocates of Dr. Alexander: Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; Latham & Watkins LLP; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP; and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Allies of Dr. Alexander: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Clifford Chance US LLP; Fenwick & West LLP; Foley & Lardner LLP; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Hogan Lovells; Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Shearman & Sterling LLP; Simpson Thatcher & Bartlett LLP; Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
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Friends of Dr. Alexander: Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; and Ropes & Gray LLP
© 2018 by Penn Law BLSA