Professor K-Sue Park’s Reparations for Black Land Loss practicum will pair student research with civil rights advocacy led by attorney Ben Crump
LOS ANGELES (Oct. 23, 2026) — UCLA School of Law’s Reparations for Black Land Loss practicum, led by Professor K-Sue Park, is collaborating with Ben Crump Law PLLC to support Russell City families seeking meaningful redress for historical displacement and property loss in Alameda County.
Through the Spring 2027 practicum, UCLA Law students will examine archival materials, property and ownership histories, public records, and potential approaches to measuring economic harms from the destruction of Russell City. Their research will support a community-centered effort to document the losses and evaluate pathways toward additional compensation.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump will lead the law firm’s advocacy efforts in coordination with affected families. The collaboration is intended to connect the students’ historical and legal research with practical strategies for seeking accountability and further redress. Individual legal representation, where undertaken, will be governed by separate client engagement agreements.
Russell City, once located near present-day Hayward, was a community of residents, businesses, and cultural institutions disrupted by government acquisition and redevelopment during the 1960s. Alameda County, the City of Hayward, and the Alameda County Office of Education have established an initial $1.3 million redress fund; the collaboration will examine losses and remedies beyond that initial program.
“The families of Russell City deserve to have their history heard and their losses taken seriously,” said Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump. “By combining careful research with determined legal advocacy, we intend to work alongside families as they pursue meaningful accountability and redress.”
“Our students will have the opportunity to connect the study of Black land loss with the lived histories of Russell City families,” said Professor K-Sue Park of UCLA School of Law. “The goal is rigorous, responsible research that responds to the community’s priorities and helps illuminate what meaningful repair could require.”
The collaboration will develop as the parties and participating families establish research priorities, supervision procedures, and appropriate confidentiality protections.
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ABOUT BEN CRUMP LAW
Through his work, nationally renowned civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump has spearheaded a legal movement to better protect the rights of marginalized citizens. He has led landscape-changing civil rights cases and represented clients in a wide range of areas including civil rights, personal injury, labor and employment, class actions, and more. Ben Crump Law is dedicated to holding the powerful accountable. For more information, visit bencrump.com.
ABOUT UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW
UCLA School of Law offers experiential courses including Reparations for Black Land Loss, examining legal and historical questions surrounding land dispossession and reparative remedies.
