Reya R
- Research Program Mentor
JD at University of Colorado at Boulder
Expertise
social studies, law, critical race theory, history, performing and visual arts, education, creative writing, dance, social studies
Bio
I am a lifelong writer and artist, as well as a passionate educator. In 2017, I earned my Bachelor of Arts in African American Studies with a minor in Dance. I recently completed my Juris Doctorate and passed the uniform bar exam in all eligible states. I have won multiple honors through my research and writing including a 2024-2025 graduate fellowship with the CU Boulder Center for African and African American Studies and a published article in the American Bar Association's Human Rights Magazine. My research interests range from environmental justice and constitutional law to dance and education. I am passionate about music, particularly hip hop and R&B and Soul. I enjoy traveling nationally and internationally, Ghana and France being some of my favorite places to visit. I am also an entrepreneur and will be starting my own law firm this fall.Project ideas
Dance as a Weapon: The Political Activism of Pearl Primus
This essay highlights how dance can be used a political tool in the United States and abroad by examining the dance teachings and choreography of the late Pearl Primus. Primus was a pioneer in bringing cultural dance, particularly from the African continent and the Caribbean, to mainstream stages in the United States. Her work, similar to that of Alvin Ailey, used dance to push political boundaries and humanize marginalized communities.
Louisiana and the Uniform Heir's Property Act (UHPA)
This project is a law review article that challenges the heir's property laws in the state of Louisiana and evaluates how the adoption of the Uniform Heir's Property Act is a crucial step in environmental and racial justice in Louisiana. In the face of systematic dispossession of agricultural land from African Americans in the United States (over 90% of land since 194), Louisiana has an urgent need to protect current land and homeowners from losing their land to private developers and the damaging effects of climate change. The adoption of the UHPA will not only protect families and communities from cultural and agricultural losses, but also build climate disaster resilience on our shrinking coastlines.