Considerations for upcoming panel on Hastings’ name change

On February 1, the Los Angeles County Bar Association is presenting an online panel discussion titled: "Hastings Name Change: The Good, Bad and the Ugly." The panel will address the controversy surrounding whether the name of Hastings College of the Law should be changed by the California Legislature (the name is enshrined in California law) to eliminate reference to its founder, Serranus Clinton Hastings.

Born in the state of New York in 1814, Hastings started west in 1834 and in 1837 settled in a part of the Wisconsin Territory that later became the Iowa Territory and, in 1846, the state of Iowa. There he was appointed a justice of the peace, served in the territorial legislature, as a member of the new state's first contingent of United States congressmen, and in 1848 became the state's first chief justice. He came to California in 1849 with the Gold Rush, thereafter amassing a fortune primarily by acquiring and selling land. In late 1849 he was appointed California's first chief justice and in 1851 was elected its third attorney general.

In 1878 Hastings paid $100,000 in U.S. gold coin to the state's Treasurer to establish a Law Department for the University of California, "that shall forever be known and designated as the Hastings College of the Law." Cal. Ed. Code Section 92200. That law also provides that if the college "ceases to exist," the state must repay Hastings' heirs the $100,000 plus accumulated interest. Id. Section 92212.

In amassing his fortune, Hastings participated in the genocidal redistribution of land in which many Native Americans were brutally killed. This was part of federal and state government policy and practice aimed at making things "safe" for the new, mostly white, settlers, some of whom were also killed. Gavin Newsom, former mayor of San Francisco, and current governor of California has said as much.

Exactly what Hastings did may never be known, but these despicable events, based upon private property laws unknown in native cultures, brought great wealth to some settlers, and Hastings was one of them. And as noted by the college's chancellor and dean, David Faigman, so was former California Gov. Leland Stanford, founder of Stanford University.

Dean Faigman conducted a thorough investigation and produced a lengthy report that recommended that the college's name not be changed: "Erasing a school's name does not alter the past but might undermine our ability to learn from it. ... Only by remembering the past, and learning from it, can we move forward into a more enlightened and compassionate future." As a result of that report, programs were implemented to provide "restorative justice," and Dean Faigman and James Russ, president of the Round Valley Indian Tribes, coauthored a July 3, 2021, op-ed piece in the Sacramento Bee outlining the process by which they and their constituencies, "came to realize that a proactive and respectful partnership between the law school and the descendants of those its founder had so grievously harmed was the best form of remembrance and redress." They also concluded: "Changing the name of the school would be of little benefit to the living descendants of Serranus Hastings' crimes. These atrocities should not be erased -- instead it should be a societal goal to never forget this sordid chapter of American history and the challenges that Native Americans continue to face."

Contrast that process with the recent law school name change at U.C. Berkeley that removed the name "Boalt" from the law school's building. John Boalt is said to have encouraged the disparagement and brutalizing of Asian immigrants, but we have heard of no restorative justice initiatives having been suggested at U.C. Berkeley Law, notwithstanding the ongoing attacks on Asian-Americans right next door in Oakland.

Similarly, the late U.S. Chief Justice Earl Warren, when he was California's attorney general in the 1940s, supported and facilitated the internment of Japanese-Americans and the confiscation of their property during WWII. He later apologized for his central part in that tragic chapter in U.S. history, and that was apparently that. Numerous institutions and buildings remain named for the late chief justice.

For the college's centennial in 1978, "Hastings College of the Law, The First Century," by Thomas Garden Barnes was published. It recounts that at the U.C. Berkeley commencement in 1878 where formation of Hastings College of the Law was formally announced, it was claimed by a protester that Hastings "had endowed the College only to offset his crimes." If so, Hastings' amends have paid handsome dividends to those of us who have benefited from there being a Hastings College of the Law.

Last November, after seeking input from only a fraction of its considerable alumni, the college's board of directors told Dean Faigman to reverse his prior decision, and support the state Legislature changing the name of the college.

Hopefully the upcoming panel discussion will consider: (1) Whether changing the college's name might only end up allowing we privileged beneficiaries of its existence, and the California Legislature and governor, to allow ourselves to feel better for having "done" something? (2) Would any momentum gathered by the college's restorative justice initiatives quickly diminish? (3) Would it be better to retain the Hastings name as a continuing reminder and example of what justice means to us? (4) To address its legacy, will the Legislature agree to provide additional annual funding for restorative justice initiatives at the college?

Also, leaving the name as is and funding ongoing restorative justice may be cheaper than litigation about returning Hastings' $100,000 plus interest (after almost 150 years) to his heirs. Perhaps it's as close to "win-win" as we can hope for. 

Kris graduated from Hastings College of the Law in 1973, was president of the Hastings 1066 Foundation (1983-84), president of the Hastings College of the Law Alumni Association (1988-89).