To Be of Use: Honoring the Life and Legacy of Haywood Burns
As we mark the 30th anniversary of Haywood Burns’ passing, we will gather to recognize his life, legacy, and continuing relevance.
RSVP here.
2026–27 Burns Chair
Janai Nelson
President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund · Law as Resistance
“The future of our multi-racial democracy rests on our ability to secure these fundamental guarantees for every member of our society: civil rights, human rights, dignity, and equal protection under law”
“I am honored to help uphold the enduring legacy of W. Haywood Burns—scholar, advocate, and LDF alum—to ensure CUNY Law students are equipped to use the power of law to improve society, advance justice, and serve human needs.”
— Janai Nelson
Biography
About the Chair
Janai Nelson is President and Director-Counsel of the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), the nation’s premier civil rights law organization advancing racial justice and equality. Nelson has spent nearly three decades fighting for racial justice as a renowned litigator and prolific legal scholar with specific expertise in election law. In October 2025, Nelson argued Louisiana v. Callais before the United States Supreme Court, defending equitable congressional representation for Black voters in Louisiana and the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A graduate of NYU and UCLA School of Law, Nelson’s leadership has been recognized nationally, and she is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Root 100, the New York University Distinguished Alumni Award, the M. Ashley Dickerson Diversity Award from the National Association of Women Lawyers, and the Metropolitan Black Bar Association’s Public Servant of the Year Award.
Learn more about Janai Nelson.
Events and conversations
Join the dialogue
Future Chairs
Apply or nominate
Open to scholars, legal educators, litigators, and activists with groundbreaking contributions to the discourse on civil and human rights, appointments are considered on a rolling basis.
The Burns Chair engages in the intellectual and social life of the law school by participating in various activities for students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members, such as public lectures, symposiums, seminar classes, class visits, and social events. The Burns Chair holder receives competitive remuneration, research, and administrative support, assistance with travel and living expenses, and the unique opportunity to advance their work while engaging with CUNY Law’s dynamic network of social justice students, lawyers, activists, and scholars, locally and internationally.
The Burns Chair engages in the intellectual and social life of the law school by participating in various activities for students, staff, faculty, alumni, and community members, such as public lectures, symposiums, seminar classes, class visits, and social events. The Burns Chair holder receives competitive remuneration, research, and administrative support, assistance with travel and living expenses, and the unique opportunity to advance their work while engaging with CUNY Law’s dynamic network of social justice students, lawyers, activists, and scholars, locally and internationally.
Past Chairs
Explore the archive
Kristen Clarke
Earl C. and Anna H. Broady Chair at Howard University School of Law
Former Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice
James Forman Jr.
J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law at Yale Law School
Faculty Director of the Yale Law and Racial Justice Center
Vince Warren
Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights
All past Chairs
A chronological index rather than a long homepage list.