For its annual Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Lecture, Vanderbilt Law School hosted Professor Kevin Woodson to discuss his recent book The Black Ceiling: How Race Still Matters in the Elite Workplace.
Woodson is The Austin Owen Faculty Research Scholar and Professor of Law at the University of Richmond. He was previously an associate professor at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University. He holds a Ph.D. in Sociology & Social Policy from Princeton University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and a B.A. from Columbia University. His scholarship focuses on employment discrimination, racial diversity in higher education and the professions, and education reform.
Despite significant advancements in racial equity across the nation since the mid-20th century, Woodson argued that Black Americans still face ongoing systemic challenges in elite institutions and professions, including the law.
“Even where the absolute level of animus and bigotry has receded, there are still ongoing problems that predictably perpetuate disadvantages and disparities generation after generation,” Woodson said.
For Woodson, these contemporary disadvantages are fundamentally different from those historical precedents. A large percentage result from factors he categorized as “racial discomfort.” 
“Racial discomfort, one of the several terms I coined in the book, really refers to the kind of predictable and systemic ways in which many Black Americans experience profound senses of discomfort, tensions, and problems along those lines within predominantly White institutions,” Woodson said.
Racial discomfort is a product of “what people bring to the table” — their life experiences, what they have learned through past social experiences, and more.
“All of these things create headwinds that present challenges for Black [Americans] to thrive in these [predominantly White] settings,” Woodson said. “This racial discomfort is incredibly important in many places, including law firms in particular, because relationships there are so important.”
Woodson spotlighted two contributing factors: social alienation and stigma anxiety. Social alienation occurs when people feel they do not fit in among their peers, while stigma anxiety is the apprehension that people have when they feel that their social or demographic traits put them at risk of discrimination. These factors, according to Woodson, create and perpetuate a cycle where minority groups do not open up to their colleagues, and, as a result, their colleagues form closer relationships with others, often people who share their interests and look like them.
Finally, Woodson highlighted several potential solutions, including DEI efforts, meaningful conversation, institutional and personal training, and the desire for self-reflection and improvement.
“I think that at the very least, when it comes to our own careers and how law firms function, we need to look at ourselves, and we need to look at our colleagues, and we need to try to bring us closer to justice and equity,” Woodson said. “This is hard work, and this is something that I strongly believe that is the next leg of our journey into making progress in these domains — the concerted effort of many people, as opposed to top-down policy programs.”
