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We at the Harvard BlackLetter Law Journal (HBLJ), formerly the Harvard Journal on Racial and Ethnic Justice, are excited to announce our 2019 Call for Content. HBLJ is looking for submissions from activists, those who are or have been incarcerated, lawyers, organizers, scholars, and others confronting issues facing Black communities in the United States and the Black diaspora across the world. We are accepting submissions until January 20, 2020. These submissions will be considered for our May 2020 edition.

HBLJ welcomes written submissions of no more than 20 pages, with a recommended length of between 1 and 3 pages. Written submissions can include short essays, poems, and the like. HBLJ also welcomes submissions employing other modes of expression, such as photography, spoken word, videography and so on, as well as submissions (at any stage in the development process) addressing issues affecting Black Communities other than the specific issue outlined above.

Please email submissions to harvardjrej@gmail.com, and email the same with any questions.  Submissions may also be mailed to the following address: Harvard BlackLetter Law Journal, Wasserstein Hall, 1585 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138.

In addition, we are always accepting online blog posts about issues impacting Black communities and the Black diaspora. Organizers, activists, and people directly impacted by systems of subordination are highly encouraged to write and will receive capacity support to publish. We’re especially interested in:

  1. Traditional scholarship posts analyzing a relevant legal issue.
  2. Personal narratives that features movement lawyers/activists/directly-impacted people, e.g. a day in the life.
  3. Reflections from organizers about social movement building techniques/challenges/successes.
  4. Experiences/reflections from conference attendees.
  5. Critical race theory summaries of works-in-progress or proposals for upcoming CRT scholarship.
  6. Single/multi-author posts and/or interviews 500-3000 words in length with hyperlink citations (minimal footnotes).

While there no guarantee that all submissions will be accepted, our goal is to make publishing more accessible and to democratize the production of knowledge. Editors will work closely with writers to polish submissions. All writers will be notified if their piece is accepted, not accepted, or needs more work within one week of submission. Please send submissions to harvardjrej@gmail.com.

Photo credit: Scott Lum.