James Forman Jr. is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and expert on race and class dimensions of schools, police, and prisons whose work focuses on racial justice in higher education and the criminal legal system. Building upon his exploration of racial exclusion in American education and pathways for access to legal education, Professor Forman examines practical interventions to address the harms of mass incarceration. His work as the Burns Chair will also draw upon his forthcoming anthology, Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change. Professor Forman has developed innovative educational opportunities, such as Yale Law’s Access to Law School Program and the Maya Angelou School in Washington, D.C., to serve underserved as well as justice-impacted youth and adults. Under his leadership, Yale Law School launched its first center dedicated to developing and implementing projects that advance racial justice.
A graduate of Brown University and Yale Law School, Professor Forman has received honorary degrees from Macalester College and Niagara University. He is a Trustee of the Council on Criminal Justice, a member of the American Law Institute, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society in 2023.
Professor Forman has written many law review articles, in addition to op-eds and essays for The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Republic, The Nation, and The Washington Post.
