Biography
Ralph Richard Banks (BA '87, MA '87) is the Jackson Eli Reynolds Professor of Law at Stanford Law School and Professor, by courtesy, at the School of Education. A native of Cleveland, Ohio and a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School (JD 1994), Banks has been a member of the Stanford faculty since 1998. Prior to joining the law school, he practiced law at O’Melveny & Myers, was the Reginald F. Lewis Fellow at Harvard Law School, and clerked for a federal judge, the Honorable Barrington D. Parker, Jr. (then of the Southern District of New York). Professor Banks teaches and writes about family law, employment discrimination law, and race and the law. He is the author of Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone. At Stanford, he is affiliated with the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research, the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and the Ethnicity, the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education, and the Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality. His writings have appeared in a wide range of popular and scholarly publications, including the Stanford Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times. He has been interviewed and quoted by numerous print and broadcast media, including ABC News/Nightline, National Public Radio, The New York Times, and the Los Angeles Times, among others.
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Key Works
- R. Richard Banks, Race-Based Suspect Selection and Colorblind Equal Protection Doctrine and Discourse, 48 UCLA Law Review 1075-1124 (2001).
- R. Richard Banks, The Color of Desire: Fulfilling Adoptive Parents' Racial Preferences Through Discriminatory State Action, 107 Yale Law Journal 875-964 (1998).
In the News
- Walmart Faces Long Battle On Sex Discrimination, Despite Supreme Court Ruling
- Banks Outlines Racial Marriage Gap
- Q&A: Ralph Richard Banks Asks If Marriage Is For White People Only
- Interracial Marriage: More Accepted, Still Growing
- New Book Sparks Debate On How Unwed Trend Among Blacks 'Affects Everyone'
Courses & Programs
Courses
Publications & Cases
Recent Publications View All
- Ralph Richard Banks, The Perils and Promise of Openness, Room for Debate: A Running Commentary on the News, New York Times, January 20, 2012.
- Ralph Richard Banks, A Shortage of Eligible Black Men, Room for Debate: A Running Commentary on the News, New York Times, December 20, 2011.
- Rick Banks, Overview of “Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone”, The Volokh Conspiracy, September 6, 2011.
- Ralph Richard Banks, Love Beyond Black and White, Essence, September 2011, pp.128-132.
- Ralph Richard Banks, The Relationship Market, Essence, September 2011, p.124-126.
- Ralph Richard Banks, Why Interracial Marriage Is Good for Black Women - and the Best Hope for Restoring Marriage in the Black Community, Council on Contemporary Families Discussion Paper, August 30, 2011.
- Ralph Richard Banks, An Interracial Fix for Black Marriage, Wall Street Journal, August 6/7, 2011, p. C3.
- R. Richard Banks Group Harms in Antiterrorism Efforts: A Pervasive Problem with No Simple Solution, 117 Yale Law Journal. Pocket Part 198 (2008)
- Ralph Richard Banks, Marriage: The Next Chapter: How Moral Norms Evolve, Room for Debate: A Running Commentary on the News, New York Times.com, July 3, 2011.
- Ralph Richard Banks, A Cruel Paradox, Room for Debate: A Running Commentary on the News, New York Times, June 21, 2011.
Affiliations & Honors
Professional Affiliations
- Member, Faculty Advisory Board for the Michelle R. Clayman Institute for Gender Research
- Faculty Associate, Research Institute for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity
- rbanks@stanford.edu
- 650 723.6591
- Curriculum Vitae
Education
- BA, Stanford University, 1987
- MA, Stanford University, 1987
- JD, Harvard Law School, 1994
Website
Expertise
- Antidiscrimination Law
- Family Law
- Property
- Race and the Law