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Article

Abstract

Much of what has been written concerning the experience of women of color in the legal academy has focused on tenured or tenure-track women of color who teach doctrinal courses. I speak from a somewhat different place-as a woman of color who teaches Legal Writing and who, like most faculty who teach Legal Writing, is untenured. Of course, I nod my head with recognition as I read the stories shared by tenured or tenure-track women of color who teach 2 doctrinal courses, including challenges they face from students and colleagues. At the same time, I also know (1) that untenured women of color who teach Legal Writing face additional challenges because of their lower status in the academic hierarchy; (2) that those additional challenges are often invisible to, or ignored by, others, even those who might be allies on issues of race and gender; and (3) that their lack of status can demean and silence them, as well as prevent their institutions from benefiting from all they can contribute as scholars, teachers, and colleagues. In this essay, I share some of the voices of women of color who teach Legal Writing to illuminate the ways in which their status as skills faculty combines with their status as women of color to affect their experience within the legal academy. In doing so, I hope to remind us that, as we seek to challenge systems that devalue women of color in the academy based on their gender and race, we should also challenge systems of status that impact and marginalize this often overlooked group in the academy.3 Part I situates this essay in my own experience and explains my purpose in writing it. Part II addresses ways in which women of color who teach Legal Writing can experience multiple marginalizations, based on their status as skills faculty as well as their race and gender, and shares some of their voices to illustrate those experiences of marginalization. In Part III, I explore some ways to address the barriers that undermine women of color who teach Legal Writing and to be more inclusive of them as respected colleagues in the academy.

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