Recent UCLA school of law graduate Omarr Rambert spoke with Mike Muñoz, VP of Student Services, and Uduak-Joe Ntuk, President of the Board of Trustees. During a Facebook live event on Wednesday, February 17th, Rambert spoke about Black identity, his career path in law, and Black representation in law.
Rambert and his mother, April Daniels, went viral when he posted an Instagram video showing his reaction as he checks for the results of his California bar exam. As he sees that he passed, his mother jumps and screams with excitement.
Rambert said that the journey to that moment of joy was long and required him to overcome multiple challenges. He was a first generation, young, Black student who struggled to navigate his way through predominantly white institutions.
Rambert knew he wanted to pursue a career in law since the 5th grade. His late stepfather was a professional songwriter, which led Omarr to become fascinated with the entertainment industry from a very young age.
As a first generation student, he did not know any mentors to provide him with advice, tips, or opportunities in the field he wished to go into. “It was just a matter of going out on my own, meeting people at this networking event, and making those connections,” Rambert said.
During his final year of law school, Rambert was faced with the death of his stepfather, who was an influential figure in his life. Rambert was in the midst of studying for final exams and experiencing his last year at UCLA when he had to quickly fly back home to North Carolina to attend his stepfather’s memorial.
After his stepfather’s passing, he found comfort in his Christian faith, family, and the process of publishing one of his passion projects. Rambert completed a paper in one of his courses shortly before his father’s passing.
“The paper focused on the intersection of race, the child support and welfare system, and fatherlessness – particularly the notion of the absent Black father,” Rambert said during the Facebook live. The paper was published at the notorious UCLA Law Journal after his stepfather’s death.
Rambert continued to persevere on becoming an attorney after his loss. “Not only is graduating law school, passing the Bar and becoming an attorney something for myself – but it is something for (my stepfather),” he stated.
Rambert, when asked who his Black heritage role model was, said: “It’s 100% my stepfather. From a young age he taught me not only what it means to be a man, but what it means to be a Black man in America”.
Rambert is part of the only 4% of attorneys in California that are Black. A statistic that exemplifies the lack of diversity in the current legal system. Rambert recalls red flags being raised dating all the way back to his first day of law school at UCLA.
During orientation, the Dean “pointed out the great diversity numbers that UCLA had. I think she said our class was 40% people of color,” Rambert said. “But then I looked around and there were only about 10 Black students in a class of 300.”
As he continued through law school, Rambert was able to pinpoint the problem. “It really is a pipeline issue,” he said. A lack of Black law students means a lack of law firms recruiting Black people for positions and “it becomes a continuous cycle.”
Underrepresentation of Black individuals in law is a crucial issue to Rambert. But change is only possible through unity. The support from allies who aren’t people of color is critical in making a positive change for those who are.
“It boils down to sharing resources,” said Rambert. “Time, mentorship, or even as little as outlines for a class.”
Rambert encourages those interested in pursuing a career in law to begin the process of preparation as early as they possibly can. “You can never start too early in terms of thinking about what you want your college experience to look like and when it comes to the resume you’re crafting,” he said.
Muñoz believes that having conversations about the lack of representation of people of color in certain career fields, such as entertainment law, is important.“When you look at the numbers, Black, Latinx, and Pacific Islander folks are underrepresented in these spaces,”Muñoz stated.
Muñoz assures that Long Beach City College will continue to host Facebook live conversations with inspirational figures amidst the pandemic.
“There is a lot of power in our personal narratives,” Muñoz said. He believes inviting these inspirational individuals, such as Omarr Rambert, to share their stories through an event gives students encouragement, especially if they are experiencing self doubt.
If you would like to know more about Rambert, you can check him out on Instagram @weirdovision. He is currently an Associate at Ballard Spahr LLP.
A replay of the Facebook live event can be found here.