Southern University Law Center

Book excerpt: Founded in 1947, the Southern University Law Center (SULC) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a model for student body and faculty diversity. While SULC was once required by law to be an all-black institution, the school's founders and subsequent leadership have created a legacy of providing access and opportunity to legal education that continues today. SULC graduates, beginning with the legendary civil rights attorney, political leader, and educator Jesse N. Stone Jr. and others in the school's first graduating class of 1950, have become trailblazers. The alumni have been successful in law, business, government, and other careers in Louisiana and places beyond. This book highlights their successes as well as the historical events that have shaped this institution. From student-led efforts to desegregate public accommodations to alumni leadership in achieving greater diversity in the Louisiana judiciary, SULC has and continues to produce lawyer-leaders who effect positive change.