PROFESSOR DONELSON RECENTLY SPOKE AT NORTHWESTERN LAW ABOUT POLICE VIOLENCE
November 2020 — Professor Raff Donelson gave a presentation at the Northwestern Critical Theories of Law Program at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. His presentation was entitled “Critical Race Theory and the Police War on Black Bodies.”
The Northwestern Critical Theories of Law Program is a student-led initiative at Northwestern Law to supplement the curriculum with the insights of Critical Race Theory. Professor Donelson was the second speaker in what portends to be a yearlong series. Donelson’s presentation focused on one of the enduring themes of his work, the plight of the criminally accused. Donelson compared and contrasted several Critical Race Theory perspectives on why Blacks are disproportionately killed by police.
Professor Raff Donelson is an Assistant Professor of Law at Penn State Dickinson Law who earned his J.D. and Ph.D. in Philosophy from Northwestern University. Professor Donelson’s research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of philosophy, constitutional law, and criminal law. His more theoretical research interests include metaethics and general jurisprudence, while his doctrinal work focuses on constitutional protections for criminals and the accused. His scholarship includes contributions to books published by Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, as well as articles in U.S. and foreign law reviews and in philosophy journals such as Metaphilosophy. He has been an invited speaker at numerous legal and philosophy conferences and has addressed both U.S. and foreign academic audiences. His work is featured in Legal-Phi, which is an online venue that profiles the work of rising stars in the field of legal philosophy.