IC Speaker To Discuss Race & Native Americans

Legal scholar Carla Pratt will address the problem of using race in considering Native American issues in a talk at Ithaca College on Monday, Oct. 30. Her presentation, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. in the Emerson Suites, Phillips Hall. It is part of Ithaca College’s recognition of Native American Heritage Month.Pratt is an associate professor of law in the Dickinson School of Law at Penn State University. Her research, which employs Critical Race Theory, explores how law often unintentionally operates to perpetuate the subordination of racial minorities rather than achieve true equality. She advances a democratic rationale for affirmative action, and considers the legal history and identity of African Americans and Native Americans in an effort to develop a foundation for achieving interracial justice between the two groups. She teaches courses on Race, Racism and American Law; Equal Protection and Civil Rights; and Professional Responsibility and Contracts.Pratt has previously served as a deputy attorney general for the state of New Jersey and engaged in private practice as a commercial litigator with the Philadelphia law firm Drinker, Biddle & Reath LLP. She earned her bachelor’s degree from East Texas State University and law degree from Howard University.Pratt’s talk is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs.