Welcome to The Georgetown Law Journal’s 2023 Symposium: Afrofuturism and the Law. The Symposium provided a forum to examine and identify ways to redress systemic racial injustice in a myriad of legal fields through an Afrofuturist lens. The November 10 event was in person with a live stream, featuring Black scholars across a wide range of disciplines—law, theology, literature, media studies, philosophy, and sociology. It was the first symposium in the U.S. dedicated to this topic. The Journal worked closely with Professor Bennett Capers of Fordham Law School, Professor Ifeoma Yvonne Ajunwa of Emory Law School, and Professor Etienne Toussaint of USC Law School to create the Symposium. The event was co-sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the AI and the Law Program at Emory Law School and the Fordham Center on Race, Law, and Justice.

The Symposium was held on November 10, 2023 on the 12th Floor of Gewirz Student Center, and was a full day of conversation with three robust panels and a keynote address by the incredible Professor Patricia J. Williams.

Read the full recap here.

Broadly, the day included the following:

• Introductory Remarks: 9:00 a.m. – 9:25 a.m.
• Panel 1 – Imagining an Afrofuturist World: 9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
  • Featuring Panelists Paul Gowder, Lewis Gordon, Bennett Capers, and Chaz Arnett
  • Moderated by Georgetown Law Professor Jamillah Bowman Williams
• Panel 2 – Money, Power, and Respect in the Afrofuture(s): 11:15 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
  • Featuring Panelists Adrienne Davis, Lynisse Pantin, and Etienne Toussaint
  • Moderated by Georgetown Law Professor Sheila Foster
• Lunch – Catered by Bronze: 12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
• Keynote Address: 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
  • Introduction by Dean Neel Sukhatme
  • Remarks and Introduction of Keynote by Professor Ifeoma Ajunwa
  • Keynote Address by Professor Patricia Williams
• Panel 3 – Race, Technology, and Legal Imagination: 3:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
  • Featuring Panelists Cierra Robson, Jessica Eaglin, Ifeoma Ajunwa, and Andre Brooks
  • Moderated by Georgetown Law Professor Michele Goodwin