In June 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Northeastern Law scholar and renowned civil rights lawyer Margaret Burnham to serve on the Civil Rights Cold Case Review Board, which, under the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act, is charged with reviewing government files of unsolved murder cases during the civil rights era and setting a schedule for the public release of previously unavailable documents.

Burnham was the first Black woman to serve as a state court judge in Massachusetts and founded the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project at Northeastern, where she also serves as university distinguished professor of law. She is among four scholars from across the country nominated by Biden to serve on the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board.

“This is a true honor, and a recognition of Northeastern’s role as a leader in unearthing this important history,” Burnham said.

Joseph E. Aoun, president of Northeastern, said, “Judge Burnham’s work to uncover the crimes of the past have brought, and will continue to bring, justice to families for generations to come. We are in awe of her tireless commitment to civil rights and restorative justice, and congratulate her on this momentous nomination.”

Read more at Northeastern Global News.