School of Education Events

Location

Join us for a book publishing workshop with Professor of Law Derek Black, Carolina Distinguished Professor and Ernest F. Hollings Chair in Constitutional Law at the University of South Carolina School of Law. Black also directs the law school’s Constitutional Law Center. 

One of the nation’s foremost experts in education law and policy, Black will be delivering the Hauben Distinguished Lecture on his most recent book, “Dangerous Learning: The South's Long War on Black Literacy” (Yale University Press, January 2025).  In this two-hour workshop offered the day before the lecture, he will cover topics such as developing a book’s identity, structuring and introducing a book and adopting particular styles. Using "Dangerous Learning" as an example, he will discuss the difference between the final product and the initial draft to show how much evolution the publishing process entails. Sharing the initial pitch letter for the book, two different iterations of the proposal, and some of the issues that came up along the way, Black will delve into the logistics of securing a publisher and negotiating a contract. 

Space is limited and registration is required. Please register by  Jan. 27.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Derek Black’s scholarship focuses on the intersection of constitutional law and public education, particularly as it pertains to educational equality and fairness for disadvantaged students. His research has been published in the "Yale Law Journal,” “Stanford Law Review,” “NYU Law Review,” “California Law Review,” “Virginia Law Review,” “Cornell Law Review,” “Northwestern University Law Review,” “Vanderbilt Law Review” and dozens of others. He is also the author of a leading education law casebook, “Education Law: Equality, Fairness, and Reform,” and two other books aimed at wider audiences in addition to "Dangerous Learning." These are “Schoolhouse Burning: Public Education and the Assault on American Democracy” and “Ending Zero Tolerance: The Crisis of Absolute School Discipline.”

Black offers expert witness testimony in school funding, voucher, and federal policy litigation, and his research is routinely cited in the federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He is also a regular commentator and op-ed contributor in outlets like USA Today, New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, among others. He appears on radio and television, including National Public Radio stations and affiliates across the nation, PBS, cable television networks and CSPAN.

He began his career in teaching at Howard University School of Law, where he founded and directed the Education Rights Center. Prior to teaching, he litigated education cases at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

Sponsored by: W&M School of Education & The Institute for the Study of Education, Democracy and Justice

Contact

Jamel Donnor, jkdonnor@wm.edu