Black Law Students Association (BLSA)
Faculty Advisor: Neil Williams
Black Law Students Association 2008-2009 Executive Board
President: Lauren Cherry
Vice-President: Christy Sicher
Treasurer: Antone Little
Secretary: Ian Prentice Balom
The Loyola chapter of the National Black Law Student Association seeks to increase the number of African-American attorneys and judges in the United States and to address issues of importance to the African-American community. Loyola's chapter conducts programs to increase the number and success of African-American law students at Loyola, and it sponsors activities designed to increase contact between students and African-American legal professionals.
BLSA sponsors an annual event for Unity in Diversity Week, with other student organizations.
It encourages students to participate in the Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition and other inter-school competitions.
BLSA, in conjunction with the Latino American Law Student Association and Asian-American Law Student Association, sponsors the annual Race and the Law Symposium, which brings together distinguished scholars and practitioners to discuss issues regarding race in the context of the legal system.
BLSA sponsors an annual dinner, at which the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Service Award is presented to an African-American alumnus/a of Loyola. The award is named after Donald L. Hollowell, a 1951 alumnus of Loyola, who distinguished himself as one of the leading lawyers of the Civil Rights Movement. Mr. Hollowell passed away at the end of 2004. To learn more about Mr. Hollowell's remarkable career, click here.
