Tomiko Brown-Nagin facts for kids

Tomiko Brown-Nagin (born around 1970) is an American expert in law and history. She is currently the leader (dean) of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. She also teaches about constitutional law at Harvard Law School and history at Harvard University.

Early Life and Education

Tomiko Brown-Nagin was born around 1970. She went to Furman University, where she studied history and graduated with top honors in 1992. She also received a special award called the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.

Later, she earned a law degree (J.D.) from Yale Law School in 1997. While there, she helped edit the Yale Law Journal. She also earned a Ph.D. in history from Duke University in 2002.

Her Career and Work

After law school, Tomiko Brown-Nagin worked for judges, helping them with legal cases. She also worked as a lawyer at a private firm in New York.

Before joining Harvard University, she was a law professor at the University of Virginia Law School.

Leading at Harvard

In 2017, she became the faculty director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute at Harvard Law School. From 2013 to 2018, she also helped lead the Law and History Program there.

In 2018, she became the dean of the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. This is a special place at Harvard where people from different fields come together to work on important projects.

At Harvard Law School and Harvard University, she teaches classes about:

• American legal history
• Constitutional law (rules for how the government works)
• Education law and policy
• The U.S. Supreme Court and social reform

Important Research and Reports

From 2019 to 2022, Professor Brown-Nagin led a special committee at Harvard. This group looked into Harvard's past connections to slavery.

She helped write a report that showed how Harvard was connected to slavery. This report received a lot of attention from the media.

Writing and Public Speaking

Tomiko Brown-Nagin has written many books and articles. She often speaks about constitutional law, legal history, and the American civil rights movement.

She believes that top universities should help more students who are the first in their families to go to college. She thinks this would help students from all backgrounds.

In 2011, she published her book Courage to Dissent: Atlanta and the Long History of the Civil Rights Movement. This book won several major awards, including the Bancroft Prize in history.

In 2022, she published another important book called Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality. This book also won several awards, like the Order of the Coif Book Award. It was also featured in many news outlets like NPR and PBS.

In 2020, she spoke to a U.S. House committee. She talked about how law enforcement treated protesters and journalists. She explained how this might have gone against the First Amendment, which protects free speech.

Awards and Memberships

Tomiko Brown-Nagin has received many honors:

• In 2020, she became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• In 2022, she received an award from the Graduate School of Duke University.
• In 2023, Furman University gave her an honorary doctorate degree.

She is also a member of several important groups, including the board of directors for ProPublica.

Personal Life

In 1998, Tomiko Brown-Nagin married Daniel L. Nagin. He is also a professor at Harvard Law School.