The Judge Horace J. Johnson, Jr. Lecture Series is a distinguished annual event jointly hosted by the University of Georgia’s School of Law and School of Public & International Affairs. It honors the legacy of Judge Horace J. Johnson, Jr. who was a trailblazing jurist, UGA Law Class of 1982 alumnus, and the first Black attorney to practice in Newton County and the first Black Superior Court judge in the Alcovy Judicial Circuit. I had the opportunity of attending the lecture, given by Daniel J. Sharfstein, Lansden Chair in Law, Professor of History, and Director of the George Barrett Social Justice Program at Vanderbilt University. Professor Sharfstein spoke on the topic of property law and rights, specifically on how racism lingers within the field. His lecture examined how property law, often perceived as neutral or procedural, has historically been entangled with racial exclusion and inequality. He traced how discriminatory legal structures, such as appraisals and ownership, have shaped access to opportunity. As an event hosted by the University of Georgia’s School and SPIA, the lecture reinforced the importance of confronting structural inequities through legal scholarship and public policy reform. I could not recommend attendance for the 2026 lecture enough.
Author
Parker Buckroyd
