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Welcome to the Aoki Center for Critical Race and Nation Studies. The Aoki Center is an initiative at the University of California, Davis, School of Law to honor the life and work of the late professor, Keith Aoki. Through scholarly research on the intersection of race and law, the Aoki Center draws together faculty throughout the UC Davis campus to advance the fields of civil rights, critical race theory, and immigration issues.
The inaugural Aoki Center director was prominent Critical Race Theory scholar, Professor Emerita Angela Harris. Among other events, the Aoki Center offers a Critical Perspectives on First-Year Classes speaker series to introduce critical perspectives on race and law to first-year students. It also organizes the Racial Justice Speaker Series, which allows leading scholars to speak on critical civil rights issues. The Aoki Center also holds other events throughout the academic year. Please be on the lookout for notices of upcoming Aoki Center events.
Kevin R. Johnson, Director of the Aoki Center
| | Racial Justice Speaker Series | | |
Aoki Center Welcome Event: King Hall Professor Jack Chin, “Back to Dred Scott? Or Not? Birthright Citizenship and the President’s Executive Order”
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1301 | Streaming Link
Kick off the academic year with a critical discussion on constitutional law and immigration. Please join us in welcoming Professor Chin and engaging in this important conversation.
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King Hall Professor Emerita Angela Harris, “Racial Capitalism and the Law”
Thursday, October 9, 2025 | 12 – 1 p.m. | Virtual Only | Streaming Link
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McGeorge Professor Ederlina Co, “Seeing Through Blind Spots: Lessons in Intersectionality from the Suffrage Movement for Abortion Rights and Justice”
Tuesday, January 27 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1301 | Streaming Link
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Aoki Center Critical Perspectives on First-Year Classes |
Professor Leticia Saucedo, Torts
Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1301 | Streaming Link
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Professor Brian Soucek, Civil Procedure
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1301 | Streaming Link
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Professor John Hunt, Contracts
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1301 | Streaming Link
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Honors for Professor Aldana
Chancellor Gary May honored Professor Raquel Aldana with a 2025 Chancellor’s Fellowship for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in June. Presented by the Office of the Chancellor and the Academic Senate Committee on Affirmative Action & Diversity, Chancellor’s Fellowships for DEI represent exceptional contributions in supporting, tutoring, mentoring and advising underrepresented students and/or students from underserved communities.
Also, the American Bar Association has reappointed Professor Raquel Aldana as a special advisor to the Council of the Latin American and Caribbean division of the Rule of Law Initiative. Aldana will embark on her third one-year term as a special advisor after chairing the board for three years and serving on the board before that. As part of her role, Aldana advises the team of lawyers who implement ROLI projects in Latin America.
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King Hall Immigration Experts Comment for Media
Professors Gabriel “Jack” Chin, Raquel Aldana and Kevin R. Johnson (pictured above) spoke to media about the widely publicized July 17 arrests of 12 people by masked Border Patrol officers in a Sacramento Home Depot parking lot. Professor Johnson spoke to CalMatters for an Aug. 7 story about the Trump administration filing an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court to lift a temporary ban on the use of "roving" immigration stops in Los Angeles. In a July 25 piece in the Conversation, he wrote that it is far from clear that President Donald Trump’s current deportation tactics will result in fewer undocumented immigrants in the United States. Professor Aldana wrote a July 18 piece for The Conversation about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan, endorsed by President Donald Trump, to deputize the state’s National Guard Judge Advocate General’s Corps officers to become immigration judges.
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Giselle Garcia Moves to NorCal Resist
The Aoki Center is delighted to share that former Aoki Fellow Giselle Garcia '23 is now working for NorCal Resist. We look forward to watching her stir up good trouble. Congratulations, Giselle!
| | Aoki Center Faculty Affiliates | | |
Professor Kevin R. Johnson, Director
Professor Raquel Aldana
Professor Karrigan Börk
Professor Andrea Cann Chandrasekher
Professor Gabriel "Jack" Chin
Professor Stacy-Ann Elvy
Professor Emerita Angela Harris
Professor Lisa Ikemoto
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Professor Irene Ortiseweyinmi Joe
Professor Thomas W. Joo
Professor Courtney G. Joslin
Professor Lisa Pruitt
Professor Leticia Saucedo
Professor Aaron Tang
Professor Mary Ziegler
| | Supporting the Aoki Center is an investment in a future where diversity and social justice are at the forefront of the legal profession. Contributions empower our initiatives that promote inclusivity, nurture underrepresented voices, and cultivate a legal community that reflects the rich tapestry of society. Your support matters now more than ever! | | | | | |
