A renowned scholar, a cherished mentor to generations of students, and an influential member of the greater Boston legal community, Ruth-Arlene W. Howe J.D. ’74 arrived at Boston College Law School in 1970 as one of its very few female African American students. Twenty-seven years later, she became the first Black woman to earn tenure and the rank of full professor in the school’s history.
Her story, along with those of many past and recent Black BC Law graduates are told on the school’s new website, “Black History at BC Law.” Launched in April to honor, document, and celebrate the rich history of contributions from Black BC Law community members as student leaders, educators, academics, judges, activists, litigators, transactional attorneys, and visionaries, the site precedes this year’s historic graduation of the school’s largest class of 40 Black students.
“This was such an ambitious and important project,” said Odette Lienau, the Marianne D. Short, Esq., Dean of BC Law. “Much of our Black alumni’s history was comprised within Ruth-Arlene Howe’s own materials and her memory. We wanted to help preserve the archives and celebrate the many accomplishments of our Black community.
“As we prepare to graduate the largest class of Black students ever, this year seemed to be a particularly appropriate time to do so.”
The site features 10 videotaped interviews with Black BC Law graduates, conducted in fall 2023, that chronicle the speakers’ thoughts on Howe’s legacy, their own experiences as Black law students and alumni, and what the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and the Black Alumni Network (BAN) meant to them.
“This is the opportunity to ensure that this history, that I’ve been part of, is available for people in the future, because what we hope that has been put in place is a firm foundation,” said Howe, a BAN co-founder who retired from active teaching duties in 2009 and is now a professor emerita. Her private papers will be permanently archived at the University.
“Black History at BC Law” includes such compelling stories as that of legal pioneer Harold A. Stevens J.D.’36. The first African American graduate of BC Law was also the first African American judge to sit on the New York State Court of Appeals in its 177-year history. Motivated by the lynching of a Black woman and her brothers in his South Carolina hometown, Stevens was determined to study law and use the legal system to eliminate racial injustice. He enrolled at BC Law in 1933 after the University of South Carolina rejected him due to its segregationist policies.
One section of the new site focuses on BC Law School “beyond the classroom.”
The “Black History at BC Law” project was a year in the making, noted Nate Kenyon, director of marketing and communications and senior advisor to the dean at BC Law.
“BLSA and BAN had been advocating for support around archiving their organizational histories for some time,” he said. “Shortly after she arrived, Dean Lienau formed a team of researchers, administrators, and videographers to tackle the project. The group came up with an ambitious proposal: The first part centered on a video featuring Ruth-Arlene Howe; the second part was the creation of a website dedicated to Black history at the school.”
The team formed an advisory group of BLSA and BAN members, reviewed school archives, visited Howe at her Utah home to scan documents, recorded oral histories, interviewed Black students and alumni, gathered photos, and developed site content.
Howe’s video was introduced in the fall of 2023, followed by the gradual release of nine other extended interviews with Black alumni and students. The collection includes a detailed history, timeline, additional videos and photos, alumni profiles, articles from the BC Law Magazine and Alledger—a BC Law student newspaper that was published from 1981 to the mid-1990s—and more.
“Alumni are thrilled to see this commitment from the institution, and current students are excited,” said Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Lisa Brathwaite, who collaborated with Kenyon, administrators, students, and members of the Black Alumni Board. “It gives a home and visibility to the Black experience at BC Law, and the rich traditions and foundations current members are continuing to build on. Personally, I am delighted and grateful to play a role in preserving and celebrating this history, particularly as we look ahead to the school’s centennial in 2029.”
Brathwaite noted that the school is actively seeking alumni participation to update the present information.
“We’re eager to receive more photos and additional material for the timeline. We truly want this site to be as reflective as possible of the breadth of experience, the strength of community, and the diversity of career trajectories that this community brings to the legal profession,” she said.
“I’m very grateful for the hard work of the BC Law team and advisory group in pulling all this impressive content together and making it accessible to all,” said Lineau.
