Generations of BC Law alumni have found common ground in relating their experiences with the institution’s most revered fixtures, names like Hillinger, Brodin, Blum, and Katz. This week, I had a chat with Professor “Bob” Bloom, an alum himself and a remarkable legal educator whose one-of-a-kind style has left an indelible mark on any student privileged enough to take his courses (BC Law Magazine published a lengthy Q&A with him last spring; read that here).
Behind the wacky in-class antics is a seriously devoted social activist. He took part in the widespread protest movements of the 1960’s. After graduating from BC Law in 1971, he was a civil rights lawyer stumping for integration in the post-Jim Crow South. A victim of antisemitism as a child, Professor Bloom does not shy away from asking his students to sometimes think with their hearts, to ask “what is right?”
Can you give us some of your background?
I was a civil rights lawyer in Savannah, Georgia. It was the early 70’s. I arrived in Savannah and it was the first year of an integration order. Brown had just come down in 1954 and called for integration at “all deliberate speed.” In Savanna,h the speed was being very deliberate.
This was the first year the All-Black high schools had been closed. So, the homerooms were 40% Black, 60% white. But, the college-level courses were all white. I represented the number 1 and 2 Black students in the all-Black school (who were getting 1500s on the SATs and had all A’s) and we ended the classification… mostly through negotiation etc. and their fear of a lawsuit.
I grew up in a public housing project and I was one of four Jewish families. I experienced a lot of antisemitism and discrimination, so I became a civil rights attorney because I found that abhorrent… [In the 1960’s], I was in a lot of protests and I had a job in the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts. I’d watch armbands and I would testify if I saw bad police behavior.
When did you begin teaching?
I came up here [to Massachusetts] to join Cambridge-Somerville legal services after leaving Savannah. There was an opening at BC Law’s Legal Assistance Bureau. Dean Richard Huber remembered me fondly and offered me a position. I started as a clinical teacher. Then I taught, initially criminal procedure and then civil procedure for many years and then something called judicial process, where my students worked for a judge. So I’ve been here for a long time.
Why BC Law?
I’ve taught at other law schools, mostly as a visitor, and this place is my favorite because of the community. I really like my students. I really do. It’s fun for me.
How did you meet Professor Brodin?
He’s a brother from another mother. When I first came here [BC Law], I ran a lawyering extern program and he was at the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and he was my supervisor. I saw how good of a lawyer he was. He brought a discrimination lawsuit in Cape Cod regarding a Black guy who should have been promoted—he wasn’t. Brodin was in the middle of trial and I helped him do the trial (cross examinations etc.) and we just became friends. We’ve been friends for a long time and I urged him to get into teaching. And he’s a good teacher and good friend.
Were there any frustrating aspects of being a civil rights lawyer?
The thing that was frustrating was, systemically, how the government didn’t function well. It was kind of functioning like it is now under Trump. I’m very thankful for the judges that have stood up to him…
When the law firms kind of went along with Trump, I was really proud of WilmerHale because one of my former students helped bring a lawsuit against Trump. So I called him and I said, “You know I just wanted to say how proud I am of you for standing up to do what’s right.” He said, “I thought you were calling about a paper I didn’t hand in. I thought you were gonna take my diploma away.” I said, “No, no worries.”
Did your past experiences of antisemitism inform your current attitudes?
Yes. I just can’t tolerate discrimination. I believe what Martin Luther King said, “Don’t judge a person by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.”
How did you get your teaching style? Were you always this boisterous?
No no no. You know, once I got tenure… I wasn’t always [like this].
Civil Procedure was the hardest course I’ve ever taught because it’s hard for students. So, I would do things to make it more interesting. Like I would have an ugly sweater contest around exam time, you know—that kind of stuff. Like, everybody would fill out an index card on something I could share with the class. That’s how they got to know each other.
Do you still involve yourself in legal practice?
When my kids, who could have gone to BC for free, didn’t go to BC for free, I became a court-appointed master for complicated civil cases. Which was great for civil procedure. I also write for Moore’s for the treatise on Civil Procedure. I also testify a good bit on jailhouse informants. I’m also called as a consultant for Fourth Amendment stuff. I really know what the practice is like, I know real life stuff.
Are there any current/historical events that have influenced you?
I don’t know… The present time… I can’t help but think how during much of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power, lawyers were quiet. I am an educator of lawyers… [but] I don’t really have answers for what to do about this….[current political situation].
Favorite food?
Well Brodin and I have figured out where free breakfasts, lunches, and suppers are. And if we get all three free, we call it a “Triple Eagle.”
Is there any progress we’ve made as a country that you look back on proudly?
I don’t know if I can answer that. The disparity of wealth between individuals bothers me. I like some politicians…. I had a picture of Robert Kennedy in my office and I had his daughter, Carrie as a student, which was exciting. I liked Michael Dukakis who ran for president a while back. I thought he was so smart, so honest. He was not a politician in that sense of the word.
When Obama got elected, I said I didn’t think I’d ever see in my lifetime a Black person be elected for president.
Tell us about the Giraffe?
I had a student named Catherine. She was really crunchy-granola (outdoorsy). I asked her “what does your mother call you?” She said, “Cat.” I said, “I don’t like cats, I like dogs.” My favorite animal is the giraffe. After class, I checked with her, “You mind if I call you “Giraffe?” Students in that section gave me this (giraffe plushee) when the class ended and I couldn’t take it home because my wife didn’t like it. When I met her mother at graduation, she said, “I’m Giraffe’s mother.”
Alex Mostaghimi is a third-year student at BC Law. Contact him at mostagha@bc.edu.
BC Law: Impact 