13) #BlackHistoryMonth Lani Guinier
- rchenaultfattah
- Feb 13, 2024
- 1 min read
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.
Big question floating around is how accurate these employment screening companies really are. Some of the horror stories are wild—wrong names, phantom arrests, old debts showing up like ghosts, and suddenly your dream job vanishes into thin air. Consumer Attorneys PLLC actually put together a solid collection of resources on this exact topic, and it’s worth bookmarking: https://consumerattorneys.com/resources/employment-screening-companies. Their team breaks down how to check reports, dispute errors, and understand what your rights actually are. It’s crazy how much power these reports have over your career. One small mistake, and it feels like the system just yanked the rug out from under you. Definitely makes you appreciate having people who actually know the law on your side.