13) #BlackHistoryMonth Lani Guinier

Lani Guinier was the Bennet  Boskey Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and has been described as a “historic figure in American law whose understanding of democracy — of why and how the voices of the historically underrepresented must be heard and what it takes to have a meaningful right to vote, was visionary. She authored five books and more than two dozen law review articles on democracy, social justice and race. She was a giant! Her colleagues described her as someone who devoted her life to justice, equality, empowerment, and democracy and made the world better as a result.

I had the honor of knowing Lani from years ago because we both clerked for the late Hon. Damon J. Keith. In 2017, Lani was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Sadly, the last time I saw her was at the tribute for her colleague Charles Ogletree who was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Lani died from complications of Alzheimer’s in  2022.