The Professor Roy L. Brooks Fund for Social Justice

For more than 40 years, Professor Roy L. Brooks has challenged students, advanced racial justice, and shaped the national conversation on civil rights, reparations, and equity.

Making a gift to the Professor Roy L. Brooks Fund for Social Justice makes it possible for his legacy to continue to shape the next generation of legal thinkers and advocates.

Your gift will support visiting scholars, speakers, and faculty whose work reflects Professor Brooks’ commitment to justice, equity, and the belief that the rights of all people are not negotiable.

The Legacy of Professor Brooks:

Professor Brooks was USD Law’s first tenured Black professor and a pioneering scholar whose work has reached far beyond the classroom. He has represented survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre and “Comfort Women” in South Korea, helped lay the groundwork for Critical Race Theory, and testified before the California Task Force on Reparations.

An acclaimed author, Professor Brooks has published more than 100 articles and 20 books, including works with Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and Cambridge University Presses. His scholarship and advocacy have earned him three national book awards, USD Law’s Thorsnes Prizes for both teaching and scholarship, the Thurgood Marshall Award, the Virgil Hawkins Award, the University Professorship award, recognition as a member of a Presidential Commission, is a Warren Distinguished Professor of Law. Professor Brooks’ influence extends globally—he has lectured at universities across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, spoken at institutions such as the National Press Club and the New York Historical Society, and appeared on major national news networks.

Give to Professor Roy L. Brooks Fund for Social Justice to invest in scholars and educators who will continue asking difficult questions, challenging injustice, and sharing their critical work with USD Law students so that they may become knowledgeable advocates.

Your gift will help ensure his work does not simply become part of USD Law’s history—it continues to inspire action and shape the future of law.