John C. Brittain

John C. Brittain is a tenured Professor of Law at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law, where he has served since 2009. He previously held roles as Dean of the Thurgood Marshall School of Law (Texas Southern University) and a tenured professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law. He served as Acting Dean of UDC Law from 2018 to 2019. His expertise lies in civil rights, education law, and structural inequality. Brittain has litigated landmark cases such as Sheff v. O’Neill (school desegregation) and contributed to Supreme Court briefs on race-conscious policies. He is a recipient of the William Robert Ming Advocacy Award (1993) and was honored by the Mississippi Center for Justice in 2015.

Brittain’s research focuses on educational equity, housing segregation, and the intersection of poverty and race. He has participated in over a dozen Supreme Court cases, including Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District (2007). His recent scholarship critiques reliance on standardized testing in university admissions and analyzes Fisher v. University of Texas (2013). He currently chairs the Norflet Fund Cy Pres, distributing grants for African American education and health initiatives.

• Professional Roles: Legal Counsel to the NAACP, Board Member of ACLU, Chair of National Lawyers’ Guild.
• International Work: Conducted human rights investigations in Africa, Central America, and Europe.
• Pro Bono: Represents plaintiffs in federal lawsuits challenging educational inequities in Maryland and advocates for historically Black institutions.