Story
THE STORY BEHIND THE CONFERENCE
Why the National Black Pre-Law Conference Was Created
A Kept Promise
When Evangeline was a college student, she knew that she wanted to go to law school. Although she was clear about her goal, she didn’t receive any true pre-law advisement, had very little information on the realities of what law school would be like, had few chances to meet any real-life lawyers, and did not have any mentors to assist her. She was left to navigate the daunting law school admissions process alone.
I knew there was so much I didn’t know. And there really was a great deal of information that I didn’t realize I didn’t know. What made matters worse is that we didn’t have the Internet then, and the library on my campus had extremely limited resources especially related to law school,” she reminisces. As she looks back on those years, she recalls feeling lost and alone, and recognizes how she could have greatly benefited from real assistance. She knew there was information she was missing, but didn’t know where to find it, and no one she encountered was willing to provide the missing pieces.
“Although I was a serious straight A student, always studying and focused on the future, no one really explained to me that I had to have a strategy to effectively compete and that I would be competing on a national level with lots of other straight A students across the nation with the same goals I had. I could have been in a better position to be a much more sophisticated and ultra-competitive candidate had I had good information, mentoring, and the opportunity to network with law students and lawyers who cared about my success,” she adds.
“I was fortunate enough to get into a top law school and receive an excellent legal education where I was challenged every step of the way. But there’s more to my story. I also got put on hold, waitlisted, and rejected from several law schools as well. I very well could have not gotten into law school. I remember what that felt like to experience rejection and being bewildered thinking I had done all of the things I was supposed to do. Knowing what I know now, I could have done so much more – if I had known more. I did the best I knew to do with the very limited information I had. As a college student, I remember making a promise to myself that I would never become one of those people who ‘made it’ and subscribed to the mindset of ‘I got mine, so go get yours.’ I felt so strongly about that that I even remember writing a poem about it. I also directly addressed my strong belief in my social responsibility to the Black community in my law school essays. I am most proud that I stayed true to that sense of responsibility.”
Although Evangeline knew she wanted to utilize her law degree to serve her community, her own law school experiences and legal work experiences fueled her desire to help others from similar backgrounds interested in law school. During her law school years, she was blindsided by the racial prejudice and tensions that were a very real part of her every day experience. Because she was unaware of and not prepared for the additional adversity she experienced as a Black law student on top of the already intense daily challenges and stresses of extraordinary amounts of reading and class preparation and getting through the intense Socratic questioning and class discussions that all law students endure in general, law school was much more difficult than what it should have been.
This event grew out of all those experiences and frustrations, as well as the perception that the legal profession was a “closed” profession especially because she didn’t come from a college-educated family or a family of lawyers. “I needed to know ‘the truth’ and no one told it to me,” Evangeline relates. “But that’s what this event does, in the most encouraging way. I like to say that it’s about tough love in a warm, friendly and family-type environment. When people know what to expect, they are better prepared to deal with and overcome the challenges. Who would go into a battle without understanding their opponent and without the proper preparation and training? And I feel that was precisely what I did.”
Evangeline’s message through this event is simple: “It’s tough and competitive out there, but you can do it. There are inequalities out there, but you can push through that. You’ve got to work with the cards you’ve been dealt, not make excuses, and use those things to drive you to show that you have something special about you because you’ve been successful in spite of any hardships that would knock others out of the race. You must be extraordinarily resourceful. You have to decide you want this badly enough and then decide that you are willing to do whatever it takes to be successful.”
One prominent trait about Evangeline is that she doesn’t like conflict, and loves to bring people together. Evangeline believed that a national conference could bring together aspiring Black lawyers with current law students, lawyers, law professors, and administrators, where they could share insider information and perspectives, real-world experiences, and advice that could help propel law school aspirants to success. The event is all about providing real, honest information, and providing opportunities to create life-changing relationships that can make the difference between success and failure. “Essentially, I want participants to see people who look like them and come from similar cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and struggles, and to understand that if we could all overcome those things, then it can be done, so they can do it too,” she asserts.
“Most of what I learned was through experience and many mistakes made along the way. That just didn’t sit right with me,” Evangeline maintains. “Many of my experiences were not the most positive and it would have been easy for me to walk away from law school bitter and with amnesia. A lot of lawyers don’t want to talk about the admissions process or their law school experiences, and many suggest that people who want to pursue law school not do it. And trust me, a part of me really wanted to walk away and leave the pain behind.” But she always remembered that promise she made herself as a college student to remain committed and never forget her responsibility to those coming behind her.
She acknowledges that being honest about negative experiences is not common or popular, particularly for lawyers. “But I personally didn’t mind exposing my setbacks, failures, and vulnerabilities, especially as a student of education who has a good grasp of all of the factors that are involved in student opportunity, persistence, and success,” Evangeline says. “Unfortunately, as professionals, especially in the legal profession, we aren’t rewarded for letting people know that we are human. But the consequence of being that ‘superwoman’ or ‘superman’ and continuing to be distant and acting perfect is that we alienate those who want to join us and the future generations that we need to follow in our footsteps to continue to pave the way and diversify the profession.”
“I could have benefited tremendously from invaluable insight early in my journey about everything from getting into law school, the law school experience, passing the bar, and the challenges and opportunities once you earn a law degree, and particularly the additional issues that Blacks in particular must deal with” she remarks. “So many African Americans are among the firsts in their families to go to college and/or the first to attend law school, so there’s so much knowledge that we don’t have that places us at a very real disadvantage. We don’t benefit from the wealth of social capital that others do.”
“When people tell us not to go to law school, what may be true for them is not necessarily true for us. There may be too many lawyers, but there definitely aren’t too many Black lawyers. Also, even though the many bloggers and disgruntled lawyers out there say ‘Don’t go to law school,’ they may not be aware of the inequalities and our overrepresentation in the criminal justice system and the need for our voices, experiences, and sensibilities. They may not have knowledge of our special relationship to the legal system based on our country’s history of considering us only three-fifths of a person, excluding us from all of the rights and privileges of citizenship, slave codes, Black Codes, and Jim Crow laws. They may not be aware of the fact that the way Black people perceive warnings against going to law school is different because access to this knowledge is not only beneficial to us as individuals, but also to our communities. Also, we are accustomed to people not believing in us or questioning our abilities to excel intellectually and to overcome obstacles simply because we are Black.”
Evangeline was convinced that making a real change for Black pre-law students would require an unprecedented approach. “One of the problems that I see consistently is that we take the process of getting into law school as straightforward and at face value. That is the wrong approach. We don’t really have a true understanding of what it takes to be highly competitive against other extraordinary people on a national and even international level. We aren’t taught to really think strategically and competitively, and that’s problematic,” she expresses. “Then, when we experience rejection, we aren’t sure what to make of it. We need to see models of great success to pattern ourselves after. We need to have mentorship from people ‘in the know’ who are willing to share their ‘insider’ perspective and can explain what we need to do not only to get from point A to point B but to shine and really stand out. These days you can’t simply do what everyone else is doing and think that’s enough. You have to bring more to the table and show that you can make real contributions to the learning environment and profession. These are the types of things that will make the difference.”
Evangeline believes that face-to-face interaction and mentorship brings an accessibility to a profession for which entry and membership is otherwise veiled in mystique. “It is helpful to be relatable. There is tremendous value in letting others know about our long hours, sleepless nights, tears, and rejection too, instead of simply sharing our awards, accolades, and successes. You have to be resilient,” she argues. “When they go through these things, they will know that it’s just a part of the process – precisely because becoming a lawyer is a difficult road – especially when you are the first. From our experiences, we can teach those coming behind us that there will be roadblocks, obstacles, and challenges, but it can be done. It won’t be easy – but you can make it. When you experience setbacks or failures, then just get back up and do things differently so you can succeed next time. No matter what – persist, keep going. You have to know what the things are that the people who are succeeding are doing. What’s most painful to me is knowing that our not understanding how to approach the law school admissions process and experience does not at all speak to our abilities or our possibilities – but a lot of the rejection and failure we experience is simply a result of what we do not know. People perish from a lack of knowledge.”
There was nothing like the National Black Pre-Law Conference when Evangeline was in college or law school – nothing that addressed the issues that she and other African Americans faced. She knew it was time for a change. She had tried other avenues on her own to address the issue – writing and publishing books, establishing a national Black pre-law organization, creating an informational website, and an e-mentorship program – which were all helpful in their own way. But nothing could replace the dynamics of an event and in-person connections – networking and opportunities for mentorship – with so many different law students, administrators, professors, and lawyers on a national level.
“This was extremely important and something that really wasn’t being done and that I alone could not do,” Evangeline stresses. “This would need to be a collective effort from people all over the nation who shared my sincere concern and my genuine passion for changing the negative statistics regarding African Americans on the LSAT, getting into law school, performing well in law school, passing the bar, and succeeding beyond the J.D. I believed that giving them the game-changing information and the opportunity to network and connect with law students, lawyers, and law schools all in one event was critical for making a difference. Why should we consistently reinvent the wheel, when so many have gone before and can make the road a little easier?”
Evangeline stepped out in faith, not asking for “permission” from other organizations or people, which could cause delays and potentially a lack of support. “I felt people would question who I thought I was to be spearheading this type of initiative,” Evangeline admits. “But that didn’t matter. I felt called to do it. I had a vision – and despite any objections others might have had, I had the passion and was willing to do the work – whatever it took to get it done. What other people thought about it was a non-issue. There were people who were in the position that I was in that I knew needed my help and this was another way to reach them and make a difference.” Despite no experience organizing such a conference and not knowing where she would find the resources to fund it, Evangeline embraced the urgency she felt, kept the promise she made as a college student, and moved forward to make it happen.
Now, hundreds of future Black lawyers, law school representatives, law students, and lawyers from all over the country converge in Houston to participate in the country’s largest and most comprehensive pre-law conference – The National Black Pre-Law Admissions & Preparation Conference and Law Fair – now in its seventh successful year. And Evangeline plans to not only continue, but to make it bigger and better and ultimately reach as many people as possible.