Launched in September 2023, the Center’s name honors Professors Larry Gibson and Taunya Lovell Banks, who are the first Black man and woman to become tenured professors at Maryland Carey Law. Through the Gibson-Banks Center, the law school is committed to pursuing equity and improving the lives of racially marginalized individuals and communities through education and engagement, advocacy and research.

The Gibson-Banks Center uses several tools of transformation—education and engagement, advocacy, and research—to clarify and protect the legal rights of racially marginalized groups in a wide range of areas, including the criminal legal system, economic justice, employment, education, housing, health, technology, transportation, voting, and emerging issues.

(Seated (left to right): Emeritus Professor Larry S. Gibson; Emeritus Professor Taunya Lovell Banks | Standing (left to right): Executive Director Monique Dixon ’96; Dean Renée Hutchins Laurent; Professor Michael Pinard)

 

Renée Hutchins Laurent, the Dean of Maryland Carey Law, is a leading expert in the United States on the Fourth Amendment. Her scholarship has focused on various ways in which race intersects with the Fourth Amendment, including racial profiling and stop-and-frisk.

 

 

Michael Pinard, the Francis & Harriet Iglehart Professor of Law, The Honorable William H. Murphy Jr., Faculty Director,
Gibson-Banks Center for Race & the Law, and Director, Clinical Law Program, is a national leader on issues related to race and the criminal legal system. He is the intellectual and visionary lead behind the law school’s efforts to create the Gibson-Banks Center.

 

 

 

Larry Gibson, the Morton & Sophia Macht Professor of Law, taught his last class at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in spring 2025. He is a legal historian who has written one of the definitive biographies of Thurgood Marshall and will soon release a second book about Justice Marshall. He taught seminars on Thurgood Marshall and race and the law. He has curated several exhibits on the history of Black lawyers in Maryland. In 1974, Gibson became the first Black man to become a tenured professor at Maryland Carey Law. He has indeed demonstrated strong leadership both within and outside of the law school.

 

Taunya Lovell Banks, Jacob A. France Professor of Equality Jurisprudence, taught her final class at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law in fall 2021. The legendary critical race theory scholar and first tenured Black woman on the law school faculty retired after an illustrious career in which she trained her sharp scholarship on exposing systemic sexism and racism and inspired generations of students and colleagues to dedicate their legal careers to the fight for social justice.

 

 

Monique L. Dixon, Executive Director, Gibson-Banks Center for Race and the Law, is responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of and strategic planning for the Gibson-Banks Center. She joined the Center after serving as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.

 

Ariba Ahmed, Student Fellow, is a second-year law student at the Maryland Carey law. She joined the Center in June 2026, where she engages in policy and legal research, advocacy, and education initiatives. She holds leadership roles in several student organizations, including President of the Muslim Law Students Association and Career Chair of Cyber Law and Data Privacy Association. She is a May 2028 Juris Doctor candidate.

 

 

Teresa Christian, Paralegal, provides legal services and programmatic support to the Center. Her interest focuses on health equity, which addresses the systemic barriers that create disparities in health outcomes for underserved populations. Common identified barriers include poverty, discrimination, lack of quality education and jobs, poor transportation, unsafe environments, and inadequate health insurance coverage and healthcare.

 

 

Rashad Hawkins, Community Fellow, joined the Center in January 2025.  He coordinates the Youth Justice Project. Hawkins conducts community outreach to young adults who have had contact with the youth or adult criminal legal system to build awareness, interest, and participation in the project. Hawkins is a community organizer and founder of BMore Awesome Inc.

 

 

Kezia McDonald-McNeal, Student Fellow, is a second-year law student at Maryland Carey Law. She joined the Center in January 2026, where she engages in policy and legal research, advocacy, and education initiatives. McDonald-McNeal also serves as a Peer Advisor and holds leadership roles in several student organizations, including vice president of Students Supporting the Women’s Law Center and special projects co-chair of Baltimore Outreach for Student Success. She is a May 2027 Juris Doctor candidate.

 

 

Anastasie Ngo, Student Fellow, is a third-year law student at Maryland Carey Law. She began at the Center in June 2026, where she engages in policy and legal research, advocacy, and education initiatives. Ngo has held leadership roles in multiple student organizations and currently serves as Treasurer for the Moot Court Board and Editor-in-Chief of the Maryland Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class. She is a May 2027 Juris Doctor Candidate.

Chaz Arnett, Jacob A. France Professor of Law

 

 

 

 

Leigh Goodmark, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Development and Marjorie Cook Professor of Law

 

 

 

 

Guha Krishnamurthi, Professor of Law

 

 

 

 

Christopher Mathis, Assistant Professor of Law

 

 

 

 

Matiangai Sirleaf, Nathan Patz Professor of Law

 

 

 

 

Omavi Shukur, Assistant Professor of Law

 

 

 

 

Tiffany Yang, Assistant Professor of Law