Hello! This GoFundMe is aimed to support the urgent financial needs of the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) at the University of California, Davis School of Law - King Hall.
This year has been nothing short of historic for our chapter.
King Hall BLSA was honored to receive the Western Regional BLSA Chapter of the Year Award, which is a testament to the extraordinary work of our members and Executive Board. In recent years, there were fewer than 5–10 Black students total on campus. Today, we celebrate tremendous growth, with nearly 60 active members. To be recognized as Chapter of the Year among large chapters (40+ members) reflects the strength, commitment, and impact of our community.
At the same time, we are facing significant financial barriers.
Most urgently, our Mock Trial Team advanced from the Western Regional BLSA Mock Trial Competition to the National Competition in Portland, Oregon (March 18–22). This is an incredible achievement and opportunity for our students to showcase their advocacy skills on a national stage. However, travel, lodging, and registration costs total thousands of dollars. With budgets being extremely tight nationwide — including at King Hall — we do not currently have the funding needed to fully support our team.
Beyond competitions, our chapter has had an incredibly impactful academic year.
We began the year by hitting the ground running with several welcome events, including a first-of-its-kind Welcome BBQ in the King Hall Courtyard. We encouraged our members to attend professional bar association events to connect with local Black attorneys and judges. Throughout the year, we hosted study halls and social gatherings to build meaningful community among our members. We partnered with large law firms to build direct professional pipelines for our students. We worked closely with our admissions team to engage in year-round recruitment efforts, including building a new institutional partnership with Sacramento State’s Black Honors College. We remained committed to community service through our annual MLK Day of Service and Celebration, signing onto petitions addressing timely issues impacting our communities, and upholding our ethical spending pledge. There are truly too many highlights to name, but we made sure this year was defined by growth, advocacy, and impact.
Looking ahead, several major initiatives remain largely unfunded.
We are currently executing our annual Culture Week during Black History Month, which is a week of programming designed to celebrate Black culture and invites the broader King Hall community to engage and learn about Black excellence. This year, we introduced a historic BLSA Symposium featuring prominent Black legal scholars discussing critical race studies and other pressing legal issues. In March, we will host our Black on the Bench Panel, bringing local Black judges to campus to share their experiences and wisdom with our members. In April, we will celebrate our graduating members at our Annual Banquet, where we hold a ceremony to present them with BLSA graduation stoles and honor their achievements as they enter the legal profession.
Each of these programs costs thousands of dollars and requires significant logistical coordination. Unfortunately, there are simply not enough institutional resources available to support all of these essential initiatives. We are humbly asking our community to help us finish this year strong.
Your donation will directly support:
• Sending our Mock Trial Team to the National Competition
• Funding Culture Week and our inaugural BLSA Symposium
• Hosting our Black on the Bench Panel
• Celebrating our graduating members at our Annual Banquet
Every contribution will help sustain our chapter that is committed to uplifting Black law students, strengthening representation in the legal profession, and transforming lives through advocacy and community. We are deeply grateful for your time, consideration, and support.
Please check out our Instagram page for more information about our chapter and our work: