California Western School Of Law building background

CWSL to Host George Fatheree, Social Impact Attorney and Entrepreneur, for Panel on Housing Discrimination

May 01 2024
George Fatheree and Professor Emily Behzadi Cárdenas. Logos for California Western School of Law's centennial and Smithsonian's The Bias Inside Us.
George Fatheree and Professor Emily Behzadi Cárdenas. Logos for California Western School of Law's centennial and Smithsonian's The Bias Inside Us.

SAN DIEGO (May 1, 2024) -- In bringing the Smithsonian’s The Bias Inside Us exhibition to campus, California Western School of Law (CWSL) is creating the space for critical conversations on the intersections of bias, privilege, law, and justice.  

As part of this ongoing community engagement project, on May 22, 2024, CWSL we will be hosting a panel entitled “Critical Conversations: Breaking Barriers to Property Ownership.” The panel will feature Professor Emily Behzadi Cárdenas and George Fatheree, who will discuss the long-term impacts of bias and racial discrimination on property ownership and what can be done to shift the material conditions of historically marginalized communities.

George Fatheree is a social impact entrepreneur and trailblazing attorney committed to closing the wealth gap through home ownership. He is most notably recognized for securing the landmark return of the Bruce’s Beach property, marking the first time that the U.S. government has returned property taken by racially motivated eminent domain. 

Professor Behzadi Cárdenas’s scholarship revolves around the convergence of cultural heritage law, human rights, and social justice. Her recent publication, National Security or National Origin? The Implications of Florida’s Alien Land Law Under the Federal Fair Housing Act, addresses ongoing efforts to codify discriminatory housing practices, exposing the cultural biases that underly them. 

The Bias Inside Us—an exhibition and community engagement project from the Smithsonian—is an exploration of the science and consequences of implicit bias and an opportunity to learn how to challenge bias in the world through awareness of one’s own bias. 

The Bias Inside Us is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Major support is provided by The Otto Bremer Trust.  Local support is provided by San Diego Foundation and the Law, Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (LEID) Fund.