As California continues to make waves on the political front, the state’s legal scholarship is also seeing positive strides in the name of diversity.
Briana Givens, Liku T. Madoshi, and Monique Larmond, all third-year law students at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, just made history by becoming the first all African-American women managing law review board in the state of California. They were appointed to the board by the graduating members of the Thomas Jefferson Law Review through an election process. Liku T. Madoshi now serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Thomas Jefferson Law Review Journal, while Briana Givens is the Executive Editor and Monique Larmond manages day-to-day operations as Managing Editor.
This historic milestone means a lot for the women, considering the fact that is a step in their journeys to becoming social change agents for the rough communities that they grew up in.
Monique, who was raised in the Bronx, New York by Jamaican parents, shared that this recent accomplishment is a motivating reminder of how diligent she must remain on her path to becoming an attorney.
“I am in my final year of law school and so happy I have made it thus far. I will be the first attorney in my family, so I am not only working so hard for me but for everyone in my corner routing for me,” Monique told BAUCE. “Given everything that has been occurring in our communities it is important I use my platform as a positive force and help to combat some of the issues we are facing.”
Thomas Jefferson School of Law is possibly also the first ABA accredited non-historically black college and university (HBCU) law school in the nation to elect all African-American women to its board. This achievement, the women say, reverberates past their world of law.
“As the first African American all women Managing board, our goal is to be an example of how diversity is a benefit to the legal community and society at large,” Madoshi, Givens and Larmond told BAUCE. “Time and time again, African American women face obstacles due to their double minority status in society. However, we are a product of overcoming those obstacles and serve to be an example to other African American women that ANYTHING is possible.”
The women will serve on the board for one full academic year.
