Race, Racism, and Corporate Law
August 24, 2022
Hosted by Carliss Chatman
[Download MP3] [itunes] [Bookmark Episode]
Guest Information
Episode Description
Business law was foundational to facilitating chattel slavery of African individuals, starting at the Portuguese port of Lagos. Consequently, the Transatlantic Slave Trade revolutionized business law. Yet, few business law scholars address the historic significance, or the present-day legacy of Black captivity embedded into contemporary business law and practice. This episode examines racism as an organizing function of business law by exploring capital formation, risk of loss, and corporate governance, among other business law topics, as integral to the creation and maintenance of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. We also discuss how racist foundations of business law contribute to the persistent economic exclusion of Black entrepreneurs in contemporary business sectors, exploitation of racial movements for private profits, and the site of Black-owned businesses as places of white rage and terror. Using a critical lens which understands the role of law in perpetuating subordination, we will also share reflections on how business law scholars can use this information to advance racial and economic justice.
Getting Common
Wednesday at 8 AM Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica Empowerment Channel
Getting Common with Professor Carliss Chatman provides a refreshing common sense approach to business, law, women's rights, racial justice, and entrepreneurship. Featuring experts in law, business and entrepreneurship, politics and government, and education, Getting Common educates while exposing you to a fresh and new perspective. Listen live every Wednesday at 8 AM Pacific Time on the VoiceAmerica Empowerment Channel.
Carliss Chatman
Carliss Chatman is an Associate Professor specializing in corporate and commercial law. Her eleven years of legal practice before entering the academy lends a common sense approach to her teaching and scholarship. She specializes in bringing practical experience to all of her classes, making complex legal concepts within reach for students of all backgrounds. Through service on the Advisory Board of Compliance.ai, she has worked on the cutting edge of legal regulatory technology, helping to train the machine learning platform to anticipate the research needs of those in the compliance and regulatory legal space. Her experience in leadership of non-profit boards and over two decades of social activism has allowed Professor Chatman to develop expertise on matters involving race, women's rights, and educational access. Her scholarship, teaching and service have been celebrated and awarded by her faculty and peers. She is the 2021 Recipient of Derrick A. Bell, Jr. Award, presented by the Association of American Law Schools Section on Minority Groups, the 2020 Recipient Jessine A. Monaghan Fellowship, an award for experiential education, given in recognition of contributions to the transactional component of the Law School’s experiential program and the 2020 Recipient Lewis Prize for Excellence in Legal Scholarship.
