A special symposium celebrated Professor Gómez's retirement and honored her groundbreaking career and tremendous impact on Critical Race Studies, UCLA School of Law, and legal and academic communities at large. 

Laura E. Gómez is UCLA's Rachel F. Moran Endowed Chair in Law and founding co-director of the Critical Race Studies program. She also is the esteemed author of Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race, and Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism.

View video of the symposium here. 

3 p.m. — Welcome 

Remarks from

• Michael Waterstone, Dean of UCLA School of Law
• Cheryl I. Harris, Vice Dean for Community, Equality and Justice; Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Professor in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties 
• Uriel Saldivar Esteban, J.D. Candidate '25 & Community Service Chair, UCLA Latinx Law Students Association

3:30 p.m. — Manifest Destinies: The Making of the Mexican American Race

Panelists will discuss Professor Gómez's groundbreaking 2007 text, which has been established as an essential resource for understanding the complex history of Mexican Americans and racial classification in the United States. 

• Moderator: Jerry Kang, Distinguished Professor of Law; Founding Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (2015-20), UCLA School of Law 
• Genevieve Carpio, Associate Professor, César E. Chávez Department of Chicana/o Studies, UCLA 
• Nicholas Espíritu (Law '04), Deputy Director, Legal, National Immigration Law Center
• Casandra Salgado (Ph.D. Sociology '19), Assistant Professor, Sociology, Arizona State University 

4:30 p.m. — Break

4:45 p.m. — Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism

Panelists will discuss Professor Gómez's most recent book exploring the impact of Latinos’ new collective racial identity on the way Americans understand race. 

• Moderator: Aslı Ü. Bâli, Professor of Law, Yale Law School  
• Walter Allen, Distinguished Professor of Education, Sociology, and African American Studies; Allan Murray Cartter Chair in Higher Education, UCLA School of Education & Information Studies 
• Sherene H. Razack, Chair and Distinguished Professor, Gender Studies; Penny Kanner Endowed Chair in Women's Studies, UCLA  
• Saúl Sarabia (Law '96), Founder and Director, Solidarity Consulting 

5:45 p.m. — Keynote by Laura E. Gómez, Rachel F. Moran Endowed Chair in Law 

Introduction by Devon W. Carbado, The Honorable Harry Pregerson Professor of Law, UCLA School of Law (Read by Executive Director of the Critical Race Studies Program Jasleen Kohli, with additional remarks.)

6:30 p.m. — Reception and Dinner in Shapiro Courtyard

Remarks from

• LaToya Baldwin Clark, Professor of Law; Faculty Director, Critical Race Studies Program, UCLA School of Law 
• Jasleen Kohli, Executive Director, Critical Race Studies Program, UCLA School of Law  

CO-SPONSORS

• UCLA School of Law
• Chicanx-Latinx Law Review
• Latinx Law Students Association