BLSA Mission Statement
The University of Wisconsin Black Law Students Association (UWBLSA) is an affiliate of the National Black Law Students Association and a member of the Midwest Region. It was created and designed:
- To help retain current Black law students and recruit new Black Law Students to the University of Wisconsin Law School;
- To articulate and promote the professional goals and needs of the black law students;
- To encourage and foster professional competence;
- To focus upon the relationship between the black attorney and the American legal structure;
- To instill in the black attorney and black law student a greater awareness of and commitment to the needs of the black community;
- To provide an alternative platform for black law students to engage in dialogue regarding the needs of the black law student and the black community;
- To influence American law schools, legal fraternities and associations to use their expertise and prestige to bring about change within the legal system in order to make it responsive to the needs of the black community and to do any and all things necessary and lawful for the accomplishment of these programs.
National Black Law Students Association
In 1968, Algernon Johnson "A.J." Cooper, former mayor of Prichard Alabama, founded the Black American Law Students Association (BALSA) at the New York University Law School. BALSA's purpose was to effectuate change in the legal system. The association endeavored to sensitize the law and legal profession to the ever-increasing needs of the Black community. This commitment has never wavered.
In 1983, BALSA revised its name. The word "American" was deleted to encompass all Blacks who were not of American nationality. Later, the word "National" was added to reflect the extent to which the organization had expanded.
The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), the largest student-run organization in America, has over 200 chapters at law schools throughout the country. This represents almost every ABA accredited law school, plus several non-accredited law schools. These chapters represent over 6,000 Black law students in six regions which encompass 48 states including Hawaii, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Recently, NBLSA established international links with Black law students in Canada, England and South Africa who decided to model their student organizations after NBLSA.
NBLSA's societal impact is enormous. In its effort to remain responsive to the needs of the Black community in general and the Black law student in particular, the NBLSA has initiated many worthy programs and is often active in joint-effort programming with other organizations that have goals and objectives analogous to its own.
NBLSA continues to conduct its prestigious Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition and expand its national Adopt-A-School Program. In addition, through its Nelson Mandela Scholarship Program, NBLSA awards six scholarships of over $500.00 each to Black law students annually. With emphasis on economic self-help, abolishing apartheid, and forwarding a progressive civil rights position, NBLSA continues its strong commitment to the objectives of the Association. Further, the Association maintains strong ties with the National Bar Association, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, the Council on Legal Education Opportunity, and the National Black Leadership Roundtable.
Just the Beginning Foundation
The Just the Beginning Foundation ("JTBF") began with the idea of honoring Judge James Benton Parsons, the first African-American United States District Court Judge. In 1992, Judge Parsons was retiring after more than 31 years of judicial service. Several of Judge Parsons' friends, admirers, former law clerks, and staff wanted to organize a dinner to honor him and his many accomplishments.
Judge Parsons, whose modesty was legend, initially did not agree. After some reflection, however, Judge Parsons asked the group to use this occasion to honor all African-American Article III judges by celebrating the integration of the federal bench. With Judge Parsons' blessing, the dinner event was expanded to a full weekend, and from September 18-20, 1992 the "Just the Beginning Celebration" was held in Chicago to commemorate the integration of the federal bench. This historic event was organized by an ad hoc committee of judges, lawyers, law clerks, and legal secretaries with major support from the Chicago Chapter of the Federal Bar Association and in cooperation with the National Bar Association ("NBA").
As a result of these efforts, for the first time in history, 52 African-American federal judges from across the nation gathered to celebrate the struggles, history, and accomplishments of African-Americans in the federal judiciary.