Ekow Yankah facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ekow N. Yankah
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| Alma mater | University of Michigan Columbia University University of Oxford |
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| Institutions | Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law |
Ekow Nyansah Yankah is an American jurist, which means he is an expert in law. He is a professor of law at the University of Michigan. His work focuses on important areas like criminal law, rules about elections, and how police interact with people.
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Early Life and Learning
Ekow Yankah started his education at the University of Michigan, where he earned his first degree. He then went to Columbia Law School and became a lawyer in 2000.
He received a special scholarship called the Marshall Scholarship to study at the University of Oxford in England. There, he earned another law degree from Lincoln College. Before becoming a professor, he also visited and taught at other universities, including the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. His first teaching job was at the University of Illinois College of Law.
His Work and Research
Professor Yankah studies how laws affect society. He is very interested in making elections fair, improving the criminal justice system, and looking at how police do their jobs.
Making Elections Fair
Ekow Yankah has spent a lot of time looking into voting rights and election rules. He helps lead a group called the New York Democratic Lawyers Council (NYDLC). This group is made up of lawyers who work to protect everyone's right to vote. They watch elections to make sure they are fair, speak up for voting rights, and help teach people about why voting is important. In 2021, leaders in New York chose Professor Yankah to lead a new board that helps fund political campaigns fairly.
Improving Justice
He is also very dedicated to making the criminal justice system better. He is on the board of directors for the Innocence Project, an organization that works to free people who have been wrongly convicted of crimes. In 2017, the Innocence Project gave him an award for his strong support.
Professor Yankah believes that some parts of the Constitution of the United States are not clear enough. He thinks this can sometimes lead to problems, especially when it comes to how police officers are held responsible for their actions. He has studied the laws that deal with police accountability.
He has spoken out about the need for fairness. After some important events in the United States, like the murder of George Floyd, he said that problems faced by Black people should be seen as problems for everyone in society, not just issues for the police to handle. He believes America needs to make sure everyone is treated equally under the law.
Teaching About Society
In 2019, Professor Yankah taught a class at the Georgetown University Law Center. This course focused on the Black Lives Matter movement, race, and policing.
