Retirement

After nearly a quarter of a century teaching at Northeastern, University Distinguished Professor of Law Margaret Burnham, a globally recognized expert on civil, constitutional and human rights as well as criminal law, retired in June. Professor Burnham was the founder and director of the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project (CRRJ), which remediates historical racial violence in the United States as well as its enduring repercussions while compiling documents from associated investigations into a publicly accessible database known as the Burnham-Nobles Digital Archive. She was also a founding faculty co-director of the law school’s Center for Law, Equity and Race.

I have had the honor of steeping in Professor Burnham’s mentorship since 2016, when I joined CRRJ as a teaching fellow. Following the lineage of her parents, renowned organizers themselves, Professor Burnham has been a tried-and-true iconic civil rights activist for six decades and counting. Her formative years as a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee put her on the path to leveraging law as a tool to support social change. In the years since, she has accumulated a staggering array of pioneering legal and civil rights accomplishments.

Where and when the moral arc of the universe has bent toward justice, it has been in no small part because Professor Burnham herself fiercely bolted it down. Determined not to miss a spot, her reach has extended into the nation’s sordid past to rectify grave injustices and thereby lay a new foundation for an equitable future. Her regular presence in the halls will be sorely missed, yet this respite has been earned many times over. Professor Burnham has always reminded me that love, joy and laughter cannot be neglected, and it is inspiring to see her, yet again, lead by example as she pivots to enjoy her family, loved ones and cherished friends.