Brief History
The National Black Law Journal has been committed to scholarly discourse exploring the intersection of race and the law for thirty-five years. The NBLJ was started in 1970 by 5 African-American law students and 2 African-American law professors. The Journal was the first of its kind in the country. Because of the drop in African-American students at UCLA School of Law after the passage of proposition 209, the journal was sent to Columbia where publication could be continued.

One of the Journals founding editors noted that it was important that there be a forum for providing a theoretical framework for practical daily application of Black legal ideas and concepts. The Journal has aimed to build on this tradition by publishing articles that make a substantive contribution to current dialogue taking place around issues such as affirmative action, employment law, the criminal justice system, community development and labor issues. The Journal has a commitment to publish articles that inspire new thought, explore new alternatives and contribute to current jurisprudential stances.