During a luncheon held on Saturday, January 5th, 2008, at the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) Annual Meeting in New York, New York, UM Law School Professor Mario L. Barnes was presented with the Derrick A. Bell, Jr., Award. The award is given annually by the AALS Minority Groups Section and honors a junior faculty member who, through teaching, scholarship, activism and mentoring, has made an extraordinary contribution to legal education, the legal system or social justice. The sold-out luncheon was attended by Dean Dennis O. Lynch and other UM Law faculty, and in his acceptance remarks, Professor Barnes stated that in his teaching and scholarship, he seeks to use his experiences to promote the ends of justice and equality.

On Saturday morning, Professor Barnes also presented a talk on the Law and Order: SVU - Sexuality, Videos and You panel, which was organized by the AALS Law, Culture and Humanities Section. Professor Barnes' talk focused on how the prevalent use of racist and misogynist words in music, television, and books has shaped the defenses asserted in recent hate crimes prosecutions.