Document Type
Essay
Publication Title
Alabama Law Review
Publication Date
1998
Volume
50:1
First Page
115
Abstract
(Excerpt)
After sifting through state statutes that codify corporate behavior and the decisions interpreting those statutes, corporate attorneys may serve their clients and improve our society if they also consulted the teachings of a Baptist preacher. The Baptist preacher to whom I refer is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and the lessons for attorneys and law professors concerned with social justice that can be derived from his life and teachings were the focus of the 1998 Southeast/Southwest Law Teachers of Color Conference. The utility of Dr. King's instruction and the value of his model for ethical living are obvious for civil rights attorneys and other jurists closely concerned with constitutional law issues. Less obvious is the significance of Dr. King's exemplar and instruction for corporate lawyers.
The usefulness to corporate lawyers of Dr. King's insights becomes evident after reading the book that served as the fountainhead of discussion at the conference, Toward a Theology of Radical Involvement: The Theological Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., written by Dr. Luther K. Ivory. The principles relating to moral and ethical living espoused by Dr. King are especially instructive for those corporate lawyers who believe that it is imperative for corporations to behave in ways that are socially responsible.
Many labels have been invoked to describe the man that Dr. King was. Too many have called him a dreamer, suggesting that dreaming of a better world was his most significant undertaking. Others have described Dr. King as "creative theologian," "social strategist," "apostle of nonviolence," "communist," "American loyalist," "militant," and "humanist." There are even some who have described him as a prophet. One of Dr. King's prophecies has great relevance for those who guide and monitor corporate conduct. In describing Dr. King's appraisal of American life, Luther Ivory writes, "[t]he nation had buried its national conscience underneath the capitalistic principle of profit maximization. . . . The bodies of black and poor folk had been commodified and sacrificed for the benefit of others." I consider this mid-twentieth century observation and commentary on American life prophetic because of recent corporate activity that continues to commodify poor people so that shareholders can reap profits.
In this Essay, I focus on the way in which corporate law may shape educational policy in a particular context and potentially preclude the attainment of equal educational opportunity, especially for children who are poor. The factual context upon which I focus is the management of public schools by private, for-profit companies. I call these private companies that undertake the education of children so that their shareholders may profit "Education Companies." The human commodities who are the source of profit for the shareholders of the Education Companies are generally students who are poor.
Comments
Available at: https://law.ua.edu/lawreview/volume-50/