Remembering Retired Professor Christine Hickman

California Western School of Law mourns the passing of retired Professor Christine Hickman. Throughout her career, Professor Hickman made contributions to legal scholarship, particularly through her examination of the One-Drop Rule and its role in uniting people of African American heritage in the pursuit of justice and equality. Her article, “The Devil and the One-Drop Rule: Racial Categories, African Americans and the U.S. Census,” published in the Michigan Law Review, remains widely cited. Professor Hickman passed away on April 18, 2026 in San Diego. 

Read more about her life in the San Diego Union-Tribune.