ABSTRACT
The experiences and voices of the African American male former law school students revealed much about race and how it functions in law schools. They all acknowledged the presence of racial issues within both of their law schools. This chapter argues that the observance creates its own set of issues and struggles. Importantly, the conflicts, struggles, and micro aggressions were observed at both the less-selective and more-selective institutions. This observance suggests that the impact of race exists across any hierarchy of law school tiers. The chapter offers the Process of Progress model as a replacement for the mismatch theory. The mismatch theory provides a blurry Polaroid, static in its assessment of how historically marginalized communities navigate a historically racialized environment. The chapter suggests that Sander focused on methods for removing a student or group of students from an environment. That removal would have a rippling effect for historically marginalized communities’ participation in law firms, legislatures and the legal academy.
