Eyes on The Prize Documentary httpswww.youtube.comwatchti.docx

Eyes on The Prize Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=Ts10IVz
UDVw
Marx’s Theory of Law
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1aHjY4uPgY
Gandhi’s Theory of Law
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm8z-7WxP08
Gandhi’s “Pilgrim of Peace”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lncPJoGnyBw
1
A Conversation Among Scholars of Legal Consciousness
Setting: The Mercury Café in Chicago. This café is extremely

spacious, yet warm, and
hosts a number of art openings, poetry readings, and social
events. They also serve fair-
trade and organic coffee, plus bakery and other food items from
local producers. In other
words, it’s a perfect space for a small group to get together to
discuss philosophy and
social issues.
Authors/Researchers Present: Patricia Ewick & Susan Silbey,
Laura Beth Nielsen, Idit
Kostiner, Sally Engle Merry, Michael W. McCann & Tracey
March, and Kristin
Bulmiller. All authors have done considerable research on legal
consciousness among
everyday people, and have distinctive voices on the role of law
in the lives of these
people. They’ve gathered to discuss how legal consciousness
can help us understand
social activism. The social activism in this case is the fight for
or against abortion rights,
particularly in light of the recent South Dakota bill.
Idit Kostiner (IK): So, South Dakota! What is going on there,
my friends? Governor

Mike Rounds signed into law a bill outlawing all abortions,
even those in the case of rape
or incest, with a provision only to save the life of the mother.
Patricia Ewick & Susan Silbey (PESS): Well it would seem
superficially that the
people of South Dakota weren’t really thinking of the law, hey?
They weren’t really
aware of what the laws were for abortion. They just went about
their lives, not too aware
that the anti-abortion side were fighting for this bill to be
passed. And then one day –
boom! – their rights were taken from them.
Michael W. McCann & Tracey March (MMTM): It’s really a
case of ideology
trumping legal consciousness, isn’t it? I mean, it comes down
to power here. Who has it
2
and who doesn’t. Surely abortion rights activists and regular
citizens alike were aware of
the way South Dakota was heading in its abortion laws.
Sally Engle Merry (SEM): Oh, I don’t think so! Sure, activists
try to keep themselves

aware of the latest bills being proposed, fights being fought in
the courts, and other issues
related to their area of activism, but with regular citizens, they
often have very few
resources available to them to find out about such legal matters.
And even if they are
vaguely aware of such a large political issue being contested in
the courts, how are they
supposed to act on it?
Laura Beth Nielsen (LBN): Yeah, particularly a lot of working-
class and minority
women just don’t feel empowered enough to fight against, or
even speak out against
injustices they see. If a teenage girl becomes pregnant, they
just deal with it, whether it
be through helping the girl get an abortion, helping her through
pregnancy, putting the
child up for adoption, or helping the girl raise the child. Or
they just try to brush the
issue under the carpet; ignore it. Most of these people just
cannot see big picture. They
don’t think changing laws is really possible, nor do they even
know how to go about

getting justice in their own community, really.
Kristin Bulmiller (KB): Let’s not paint a picture of the working-
class as victims,
though. Historically, there have always been legally aware
activists within the most
disadvantaged segments of society. They’ve worked hard to
bring oppressed groups
together and enact social and legal change. Without them,
women wouldn’t have the
vote, they’d have no control over their reproductive health,
while all kinds of minorities
would still be legally able to be discriminated against in the
workplace, at school, and in
other public institutions.
3
IK: So, Kristin, you’re saying that you believe that everyday or
working-class citizens
could use the political schema – uniting to organize and build
grassroots power – to work
in South Dakota? But the bill has already been signed by the
governor. It wasn’t enacted
on July 1st, as it was supposed to be because a group of

activists collected over double the
amount of signatures required to postpone the bill coming into
law. So the citizens of
South Dakota will find the issue on the ballot in November.
KB: Great! But of course everyday citizens need to unite, rally,
hold meetings and
conferences, attract the press, and get the word out however
they can! If people strongly
feel that abortion being illegal will affect them, their
community, and their future
generations, they must speak up. They may have no money,
they may have no friends
who feel the same way, but they need to start small. Start with
a handwritten flyer and
post it somewhere. No doubt there are others who will agree
with you and will help you
organize.
PESS: I don’t know. I don’t understand how a group of
everyday people can work to
make sure this law doesn’t go into effect. I mean, it’s already
been signed by the
governor. I bet a lot of people just feel helpless right now.
They probably don’t know

the schemas of the legal system or even how to stage a protest.
Some may wish they
knew someone in power – some politician or something – but I
bet a lot of people in
South Dakota have just resigned themselves to this law taking
effect.
SEM: But if people feel the issue is personal enough, they’ll do
something about it. If
they feel strongly about it, they’ll say something to someone
and the word will spread.
Sure, gathering a large group of people who will march up to
the governor’s office may
not be in the minds of some working-class citizens, but they
may find other ways to get
4
their voice heard. These people will take the courts. Actually,
I really believe that
women will take to the courts if this law is passed. If they
don’t want a child, and want to
have an abortion, I’m sure women will file suit left and right.
They’ll feel so helpless
that they’ll see no other way.

MMTM: Yeah, but you’re just talking about tactical resistance
here. If these women
take to the court after this is enacted, they most likely will not
win. They will have no
choice but to have their child. Don’t you think that they should
be provided with more
resources in order to speak out against what they see as an
unjust law, if they feel that
way?
LBN: I really think that if people are serious about overturning
a law, or not letting a
certain law be passed, they need to know their legal rights.
They need to see how it is
nationwide, or in other states. If they’re empowered with this
knowledge, they’ll feel
more able to take risks in challenging the legal system.
IK: You’re touching on the political schema again, Laura!
What about the role of the
cultural schema – working to change deeply held cultural and
social beliefs – here? Can
the people of South Dakota use this if they would like to make
sure this law is not
enacted?

KB: I’m not sure how possible it is to change people’s beliefs.
If they think abortion is
wrong, in any circumstance, how do you change that? I mean,
people still hold racist
beliefs against African-Americans, no matter how PC they
appear to be on the surface.
And this is some 40+ years after the second Civil Rights Act
was passed. Did the law
really get rid of racism?
5
PESS: Well, it didn’t completely get rid of it, but it certainly
made every citizen aware of
what racism is and what harm it can do. Being made aware of
injustice is a really good
start, and with all major injustices, you need to start
somewhere.
IK: Indeed. And on a more practical note, what about utilizing
the instrumental schema?
MMTM: Yeah, I really think true resistance happens when
people invoke the
instrumental schema. This is where you see the results of
successful resistance. Even if

you just feed a homeless person today, you are seeing the
results of acting against the
cultural hegemony, one that doesn’t provide social help to each
and every citizen. I think
that if the people of South Dakota don’t want this law to be
voted for by their fellow
South Dakotans, they better volunteer at clinics that provide
abortions. They need to
reach out to underserved communities, to their women and show
them that having a
choice when it comes to when, if, and how many children to
have is up to her and her
only. They need to work on educating women and girls about
their reproductive health.
They need to speak out continuously against the ruling ideology
that sex is a dirty thing,
and is something only to be done between a heterosexual
married couple.
IK: So you think that different groups of people could work
together to make sure this
law is not enacted? People invoking different activist schemas
could come together on
this?
PESS: Yes! Different classes of society working together

using different activist
schemas to change or overturn laws. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?
But it can happen.
Indeed, these people can work “with the law!”
The End
6

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Eyes on The Prize Documentary httpswww.youtube.comwatchti.docx