This reading list complements the law school’s MLK Commemoration events taking place from January 20 to 24, 2025.

Housing Discrimination, Segregation, and Gentrification

Chicago has a long history of housing discrimination and racial segregation. Structuring Inequality by Tracy Lynn Steffes discusses the role of public policy in creating and enforcing inequality and segregation in Chicago’s neighborhoods. Block by Block by Amanda Seligman gives a history of Chicago’s West side transitioning from a predominantly white to predominantly Black neighborhood. High Risers, by Ben Austin, is a nuanced study of Cabrini Green that incorporates voices of residents along with history. Issues of neighborhood segregation, gentrification, and inequality continue to this day. Black on the Block by Mary Patillo focuses on the South Side’s North Kenwood-Oakland neighborhood, a predominantly Black neighborhood facing gentrification. Us vs. Them by Jan Doering discusses recent gentrification in Rogers Park and Uptown on the North side.

The library also has a copy of Pauli Murray’s States’ Laws on Race and Color, which Thurgood Marshall referred to as “the bible” of Brown v. Board of Education. Laws on Race and Color compiles laws that enforce segregation and law that establish civil rights from every state. Pauli Murray was a groundbreaking civil rights lawyer and activist whose work informed Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP, as well as Ruth Bader Ginsburg and NOW. Since our rare books do not circulate, you can also read it online.

Chicago Freedom Movement

In the Chicago Freedom Movement, the SCLC and Martin Luther King Jr. worked alongside Chicago-based organizations to advocate for fair housing by using nonviolent direct action similar to that which activists used in the South. In A Decisive Decade, author Robert McKersky tells the history of the Chicago Freedom Movement through his own experiences as an activist in the movement. Northern Protest, by James Ralph, addresses the legacy of the Chicago Freedom Movement. One of those legacies is Operation Breadbasket. Led by Jesse Jackson, Operation Breadbasket’s original goal was to support Black-owned businesses. It ultimately lay the foundation for Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH coalition. Finally, The Chicago Freedom Movement focuses on the lasting effects of the movement by using oral histories.

Harold Washington

The law school will be screening Punch 9 For Harold Washington on Thursday, Jan. 23. You can register to attend the screening at this link.

If you want to learn more about Harold Washington, the library has several biographies, including Mayor Harold Washington: Champion of Race and Reform in Chicago by Roger Biles. Additionally, Harold!, edited by Salim Mukkawil has photos from Harold Washington’s campaign and terms as mayor.

Activists in City Hall by Pierre Clavel, Fire on the Prairie by Gary Rivlin, and The Multiracial Promise are about the broader context and legacy of the Harold Washington campaign.

You can find more library resources about Harold Washington at this link.

The reading list for November, 2024 highlights Chicago history.

If you’re interested in exploring Chicago, check out the Activities in Chicago section of the library’s law school survival guide for student recommendations. The Chicago History Museum has fantastic exhibits and programming, and regular free admission days, including November 11 and 20.

Featured book: 1919 by Eve Ewing.

“The Chicago Race Riot of 1919, the most intense of the riots that comprised the “Red Summer” of violence across the nation’s cities, has shaped the last century but is unfamiliar or altogether unknown to many people today. In 1919, her second collection of poems, Eve L. Ewing explores the story of this event—which lasted eight days and resulted in thirty-eight deaths and almost five hundred injuries— through poems recounting the stories of everyday people trying to survive and thrive in the city. Ewing uses speculative and Afrofuturist lenses to recast history, illuminating the thin line between the past and the present.” (from the publisher)

There are some classic books about Chicago, including Nelson Algren’s book-length prose poem Chicago: City on the Make, Studs Terkel’s oral history Division Street: America, an oral history, The Jungle, a novel about the immigrant experience in the meatpacking industry in the early 1900s.

The library also has books about specific parts of Chicago history, from the Great Chicago Fire, the labor movement and Haymarket Square, to the 1968 Democratic convention and trial of the Chicago Eight (or seven, after the trial against Bobby Seale was declared a mistrial), the 1995 heat wave, and environmental justice.

You can learn about Chicago’s public resources. Ghosts in the Schoolyard discusses school closure in Chicago within the context of systemic racism and inequality in Chicago schools. The Origins of the Dual City and High Rise Stories address public housing. The library has two older books about the environmental history: Nature’s Metropolis and Forever Open, Clear, and Free.

Learn about African American history with The Defender, which tells the story of Chicago’s Black newspaper founded in 1905. The South Side is about segregation and also the author’s love for the South Side neighborhood where she grew up. You can also read about how Chicago relates to music in Move On Up, about soul music and Sun Ra’s Chicago, about music and Afrofuturism.

Finally, you can explore other neighborhoods and communities. In Never a City So Real, journalist Alex Kotlowitz created a short tour of Chicago through profiles of people whose stories might otherwise not be told. American Warsaw profiles Chicago’s Polish community. Queer Legacies shares stories from the LGBTQ Library/Archives. Here’s the Deal discusses urban planning through the story of one block.

Hispanic Heritage Month, also known as Latinx/e Heritage Month, is an annual celebration observed in the United States from September 15th to October 15th. It is dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the rich cultural heritage, history, contributions, and achievements of Hispanic and Latinx Americans.

For Latinx/e Heritage Month this year, the library is highlighting poetry by Latinx/e authors. All of these books are available to check out. Click on the book covers to be directed to the library catalog.

First, to highlight some of the most prominent Latinx/e poets. Ada Limón is the current Poet Laureate of the United States, Martín Espada’s book Floaters won the National Book Award in 2021, Promises of Gold by José Olivarez was nominated for the National Book Award in 2023, and Yesika Salgado is a National Poetry Slam finalist.

The library’s collection include authors that explore a range of Latinx/e identities. Collections by Rio Cortez, Aracelis Girmay, Aja Monet, Melania Luisa Marte, and Excilia Saldaña are from the perspective of an Afro-Latinx/e identity.

Looking back through history, Gabriela Mistral was the first Latin American author to win the Nobel Prize in poetry (1945). Alfonsina Storni began writing in the 1910s, and Julia de Burgos was published in the 1930s-50s.

Rosa Alcalá, Erika Sánchez, and Natalie Scenters-Zapico use their poetry to address gender and gender-based violence.

Other books from our collection:

Welcome back to the 2Ls and 3Ls, and we’re looking forward to meeting the new 1Ls, LLM, and MSL students! We hope everyone had a great summer. This reading list includes books about starting law school and going into a legal career. You can find more information in the library’s Law School Survival guide.

Learning Outside the Box : A Handbook for Law Students Who Learn Differently

Leah Christensen

This book focuses on the reading, studying and testing strategies that are particularly helpful to law students who learn differently. It is a learning guide based upon empirical research and statistical correlations between learning strategies and law school GPA’s. This book will also show you what the most successful law students do by using interviews and examples from actual law students. (from the publisher)

24 Hours with 24 Lawyers : Profiles of Traditional and Non-Traditional Careers

Jasper Kim

Spend twenty-four hours with twenty-four lawyers through this innovative book. Whether you want to be a full-time corporate lawyer, work as a legal consultant while pursuing your music career, or anything in between, this book gives you a unique ‘all-access pass’ into the real-world, real-time personal and professional lives of twenty-four law school graduates. These working professionals each present you with a ‘profile’ chronicling a typical twenty-four-hour day in their traditional and non-traditional careers. (from the publisher)

The Guide to Belonging in Law School

Russell McClain

The Guide to Belonging in Law School accomplishes two discrete goals. First, it requires readers to engage in an authentic, rigorous, mini-law school semester involving reading, studying, exam preparation, and exam writing. Second, the book provides a foundation for students from marginalized groups to recognize and manage both subtle and explicit barriers that can impede their progress. (from the publisher)

Sh*t No One Tells You About Law School

Tanya Monestier

Sh*t No One Tells You About Law School offers law students an irreverent, fun, and honest compilation of advice culled from the author’s fifteen years of teaching experience. Think Jessica Pearson meets Carrie Bradshaw-shoe closet included! This book is a tell-it-like-it-is account of how students can successfully navigate the law school experience (minus the boring stuff). (from the publisher)

Beyond One L : Stories about Finding Meaning and Making a Difference in Law

Nancy Levit and Allen Rostron, eds.

The book elevates the perspective of attorneys who experienced law school through the lens of historically marginalized people and communities. The collection of essays is divided into eight parts, which are loosely organized chronologically around the decision to go to law school, the law school experience and the bar exam, post-law-school career paths and, finally, finding meaning and fulfillment in the practice of law. Collectively, these essays provide an array of perspectives that will likely appeal broadly to prospective law students and practicing lawyers alike. 

Click to read the full review from the Journal of Legal Education.

Other books from our collection (click for a link to the catalog):