Journal of Education & Social Policy Vol. 6, No. 2, June 2019 doi:10.30845/jesp.v6n2p4 21 A Critical Race Inquiry of African American Female Law Students’ Educational Experiences at a Racially Diverse Law School Chloe Lancaster The University of South Florida 4202 E Fowler Ave, Tampa, FL 33620, USA Yonghong Xu The University of Memphis U.S.A. Elin Ovrebo The University of Memphis U.S.A. Eric Hosman The University of Memphis U.S.A. Abstract The purpose of this research is to examine how African American female law students’ educational experiences have been impacted by institutionalized racism. Using Critical Race Theory, we analyzed data from a focus group comprised of five, 3 rd -year black female law students attending a racially diverse campus in the Mid-South. Results indicate that systemic racism and sexism affects all aspects of law school experience for black females. Nonetheless, the strong presence of an institutional honor council, mentors, and minority professors served as protective factors to assist participants navigate a racist and patriarchal legal system. An increase in women and minorities occupying positions in the higher echelons of the legal profession suggests the field of law is fairly represented by race and gender. However, 88% of lawyers are white, and according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, Law is the least racially diverse among the prestige professions (Rhode, 2015). As noted by Garces (2012), this a disappointing trend given that lawyers populate some of the most powerful offices. In higher education, women are better represented and constitute nearly 50% of the average law student population (Calleros, 2006). Nonetheless, the diversity pipeline terminates at the institutional level, as women are five times less likely to make partner in a law firm and are underrepresented at the managerial partner level (Olivas, 2005). For minorities, the field of law is fraught with barriers. While minorities groups constitute one-third of the US population and nearly 20% of the Law school population, they make up fewer than 7% of law firm partners, and only 9% of legal counsels working in large corporations (Rhode, 2015). In one analysis of the student body at a law school in the Midwest, researchers found that minorities comprised 7% of the student body, but less than 1% of regionally practicing lawyers (Wu & Schumacher, 2014). Given these statistics, and the historical replication of white males securing lucrative positions in the legal field, it is reasonable to assert that systemic barriers associated with racism, privilege, and social capital continue to exert a dominant influence on the composition of the legal profession. Researchers have described the racial homogeneity of the law profession as a "Diversity Crisis," believed to result from explicit and implicit bias ubiquitous to the professional pipeline (Negowetti, 2015). First, entrance to law school rests almost exclusively on applicants LSAT scores, despite the recognition that standardized assessments are not an effective screening tool for students of diversity, nor predictive of their later success in the legal profession (Olivas, 2005; Reynoso & Amron, 2002). Second, the practice of affirmative action in law school admissions leads to the stereotype that minority students have inferior academic achievement. Such perceptions negatively impact their academic and social development (Payne-Pikus et al., 2010), and foreground the exclusion of minority law students from formal and formal networking opportunities, deemed essential for one's legal career development (Rhode, 2015). Third: Stereotypes that minority lawyers as less competent persist into the workplace. One study revealed that lawyers were likely to denigrate legal memo's if they believed the author was a minority (Negowetti, 2015). Finally, researchers suggest that female lawyers are caught up in a double bind. Feminine traits are associated with weakness, submission,