Tanya Katerí Hernández — Racial Innocence

- Panel with Prof. Justin Hansford,Tonija M. Hope, Robin A. Lenhardt, and Manuel Mendez

The first comprehensive book about anti-Black bias in the Latino community that unpacks the misconception that Latinos are "exempt" from racism due to their ethnicity and multicultural background

Tanya Katerí Hernández is an internationally recognized comparative race law expert and a professor of law at Fordham University School of Law, where she teaches anti-discrimination law, comparative employment discrimination, and critical race theory. A Fulbright scholar, Princeton and Rutgers fellow, and former scholar in residence at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, she specializes in comparative race relations and anti-discrimination law. Hernández is the author of multiple books, including Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination.

Professor Justin Hansford is a leading scholar and activist in the fields of racial justice, human rights, and law and social movements. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Thurgood Marshall Civil Rights Center and a law professor at Howard University School of Law.

Tonija M. Hope, Director, Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center A native Washingtonian, with over 20 years of experience in the international exchange, international education, and management fields. She provides support to the Charles Rangel, Thomas Pickering, and Donald Payne Graduate Fellowship programs sponsored by the US Department of State and USAID. Previously, Ms. Hope served as the Executive Director of the Baoba Fund for Racial Equity-North America, a Brazilian foundation, and prior to that at Phelps Stokes, a DC-based international NGO. Hope is in the final year of Howard University’s Higher Education Leadership and Policy Studies doctoral program where her research focuses on the internationalization process at HBCUs.

Robin A. Lenhardt was formerly a Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Center on Race, Law and Justice at Fordham Law School. Lenhardt specializes in matters pertaining to race, family, and citizenship. In addition to Fordham, she has held teaching positions at Columbia Law School, the Georgetown University Law Center, and the University of Chicago Law School. Lenhardt’s scholarship has appeared in numerous books and journals, including the California Law Review, the New York University Law Review, and the UCLA Law Review. Lenhardt is currently co-editor of a book entitled Critical Race Judgements: U.S. Opinions on Race and Law that will be published by Cambridge University Press.

Manuel Mendez, Chair for the DC AfroLatino Caucus, is originally from the Dominican Republic and moved to Washington, D.C. at the age of nine. Fortunate to have a host of mentors in his adolescence, Mendez’s passion for supporting positive youth development and the issues that plague the people of the African Diaspora are ever apparent themes in his pursuit for affecting progressive change in his community. As a constant staple in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, Mendez’s dedicated support has allowed him to forge long-term meaningful relationships with members of the community with a goal to unite “black and brown” people of the Washington metropolitan area

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