Founded in 2020, the Black Men’s Initiative @ CLS (BMI@CLS) cultivates an intentional community among Black men who are, or have studied, at Columbia Law School through a curated series of in-person and virtual events, a robust alumni-student mentorship program, a members’ website, and more.
Past Events
Fall Happy Hour and Mixer (October 19, 2021)
The fall Happy Hour and Mixer was our first in-person event ever. We were happy to bring together students and faculty for hors d'oeuvres, drinks, and fellowship.
Black Male Political Leadership (February 5, 2021)
The political transition gave us the opportunity to have wide-ranging conversations about our role in the national political landscape. We were incredibly privileged to have panelists who are deeply familiar with this topic from the perspective of both executive agencies and electoral politics, including Mozelle W. Thompson ’81 (Former FTC Commissioner); Shavar Jeffries ’99 (Former Newark Mayoral Candidate and CEO of Democrats for Education Reform); and Zaid Zaid ’07 (Former Special Assistant to President Obama and Associate White House Counsel; Member of the Biden Transition Team/Biden Administration).
Transitioning Between the Private and Public Sector (November 12, 2020)
Last fall, we hosted an event on how members can transition between the public and private sectors. Panelists included George Madison ’80 (former General Counsel of the United States Treasury Department) and Peter Harvey ’82 (the first Black Attorney General of New Jersey).