USC Prof. Jody Armour shares with students his own Spirit of the Law
-By Melissa Zonne
Prof. Jody Armour was first introduced to the “mysteries of the law” when he was only eight years old and his father was sent to prison. Since then, he has dedicated his career to helping rectify issues of prejudice, race, crime and the law.
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| Jody Armour |
The ongoing debate over racial discrimination in the law was the focus of Armour’s talk at this month’s “Spirit of the Law” session sponsored by the Office of Religious Life. The speaker series strives to reveal “how legal professionals find meaning and purpose in the law and use their degrees in innovative and creative ways.”
Armour used his childhood experience, current studies and even passion for rap music to provide a mini-lecture on the complexities of race, politics and crime in the United States.
As an African American and a self-described “upstanding negro,” Armour spoke about the prejudice against black criminals.
“There is a systematic tendency to attribute wrongdoing of the white violent-doer to circumstance and the wrongdoing of the black violent-doer to his character,” Armour said.
Amour’s father, who was sentenced to 55 years in prison for possession and sale of marijuana, diligently studied the warden’s law books, wrote his own legal memoranda and made his own arguments to finally earn his release. Through his father’s experience, Armour learned the importance of the language of the law.
“He was able to put those words together in the right way, in such a way to open the jailhouse doors,” explained Armour. “I saw firsthand, words aren’t just vehicles for information. Words are acts with consequences.”
This love for words also inspired Armour’s passion for rap music, a passion he shared with the audience through the Tupac Shakur song “Brenda’s Got a Baby.” The song describes the tragic story of a 12-year-old mother who abandons her newborn, turns to prostitution and then is murdered. Armour asked how the meaning of the lyrics would change if the teenage mother’s baby was, for example, Crip-founder Tookie Williams, challenging his guests to think beyond their predispositions.
“I’m hoping that art can help us find solidarity. You can use art and words to build political solidarity,” said Armour. “That can be part of building a political consensus…That is the most pressing civil rights issue of our time. I can’t think of a more pressing issue.”
Jody Armour is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Law at the University of Southern California. Professor Armour’s expertise ranges from personal injury claims to racial profiling, stereotypes, prejudice and the rule of law. Professor Armour studies the intersection of race and legal decision making as well as torts and tort reform movements. His book, Negrophobia and Reasonable Racism: The Hidden Costs of Being Black in America, received the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award. Professor Armour earned his A.B. degree in Sociology at Harvard University and his J.D. degree from Boalt Hall Law School at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining University of Southern California he was an associate at Morrison & Foerster and taught at Boalt Hall, Indiana University and the University of Pittsburgh.
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