Thomas J. Davis teaches U.S. constitutional and legal history at Arizona State University, Tempe, and has taught as a visiting professor of law at the ASU College of Law. As an historian and lawyer, he focuses on civil rights, employment, and property law, and particularly on constitutional issues of race and identity. He received his doctorate in U.S. history with a minor in African history from Columbia University in the City of New York and his JD cum laude from the University at Buffalo School of Law in New York. Among his nearly 50 scholarly articles and books, he is the author most recently of "History of African Americans: Exploring Diverse Roots" (2016), a volume in the Greenwood Press American Mosaics series. His "A Rumor of Revolt: The "Great Negro Plot" in Colonial New York" (1985) was selected as one of the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights prize best books of the year. Davis has been a National Teaching Fellow, Herbert H. Lehman Fellow, Ford Foundation Advanced Study Fellow, National Endowment for the Humanities Faculty Development Fellow, Smithsonian Faculty Fellow at the National Museum of American History, and twice a Fulbright fellow (India and Jordan). He was the 2007 Wayne N. & Julia E. Aspinall Foundation Chair and Distinguished Visiting Professor of History, Political Science and Public Policy at Colorado's Mesa State College. Students and colleagues have repeatedly recognized him for excellence in teaching. He has been a nominee for the ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean's Distinguished Teaching Award, the Zebulon Pierce Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Centennial Professorship Award. ASU students selected him in 2008 for a Last Lecture Award. Also he has received awards for distinguished lawyering, including being selected by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education as one of the “Top 50 Pro Bono Attorneys in Arizona" for “leadership, commitment and generosity in providing legal assistance to people who otherwise would be unable to afford legal help." The Maricopa County Bar Association (MCBA) and Community Legal Services (CLS) conferred on him the 2002 William T. Birmingham Clinic Services Award for “exceptional service to people with low incomes who need assistance ... to get access to justice" and “in appreciation for advancing the cause of equal access to justice for pro se clients." Also he was selected for the 2008-2009 Pro Bono Award as the Tenants Rights Attorney of the Year, the 2011-2012 Tenants' Lifeline Award, and the 2015 Volunteer Lawyers Program for Love of Justice Tenants Rights Clinic Sustaining Services Award. He served as a commissioner of the Superior Court of Arizona for the County of Maricopa's Judicial Merit Commission (2002-2015) and as it chair (2008-2015).
- J.D. (Cum Laude), University at Buffalo Law School, State University of New York at Buffalo
- M.A. Center for Journalism Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana
- Ph.D. U.S. History; minors: Economic History and African History, Columbia University
- M.A. U.S. History, Columbia University
- A.B. History (Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa), College of Arts and Sciences, Fordham University, N.Y
- . . Review of: African American Doctors of World War I: The Lives of 104 Volunteers (2016).
- . . Review of: And Still I Rise: Black America Since MLK: an Illustrated Chronology (2015).
- . . Review of: Between the World and Me (2015).
- . . Review of: Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine (2015).
- . . Review of: Joe, the Slave Who Became an Alamo Legend (2015).
- . . Review of: Something Must Be Done About Prince Edward County: A Family, a Virginia Town, a Civil Rights Battle (2015).
- . . Review of: The Defender: How the Legendary Black Newspaper Changed America (2015).
- . . Review of: The Scholar Denied: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Birth of Modern Sociology (2015).
- Davis, Thomas J. "Ralph Johnson Bunche (1903-1971) Foremost African American Change-Maker.". (2015).
- . . Review of: All Eyes Are upon Us: Race and Politics from Boston to Brooklyn, the Conflicted Soul of the Northeast (2014).
- . . Review of: Empire of Mud: The Secret History of Washington, DC (2014).
- . . Review of: Strong Inside: Perry Wallace and the Collision of Race and Sports in the South (2014).
- . . Review of: The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Emancipation (2014).
- . . Review of: The Wars of Reconstruction: The Brief, Violent History of America's Most Progressive Era (2014).
- . . Review of: By the Rivers of Water: A Nineteenth Century Atlantic Odyssey (2013).
- . . Review of: Dawn of Desegregation J.A. De Laine and Briggs v. Elliott (2013).
- . . Review of: Dispossession: Discrimination against African American Farmers in the Age of Civil Rights (2013).
- . . Review of: Ebony and Ivy: Race, Slavery, and the Troubled History of America's Universities (2013).
- . . Review of: Shaping the New World: African Slavery in the Americas, 1500-1888 (2013).
- . . Review of: The United States of the United Races: A Utopian History of Racial Mixing (2013).
- . . Review of: Where the Negroes Are Masters: An African Port in the Era of the Slave Trade (2013).
- . . Review of: Word by Word: Emancipation and the Act of Writing (2013).
- Davis, Thomas J. African Americans in Slavery. A Companion to American Legal History (2013).
- Davis, Thomas J. "The American Slave System,". (2013).
- Davis, Thomas J. "The Wall Street Slave Market". (2013).
- Davis, Thomas J. "The Longue Durée of Black Civil Rights: Understanding Climaxes, Commencements, and Continuities". (2013).
- Davis, Thomas J. Plessy v. Ferguson. (2012).
- . . Review of: "We Will Be Satisfied with Nothing Less": The African American Struggle for Equal Rights in the North (2012).
- . . Review of: Representing the Race: the Creation of a Civil Rights Lawyer (2012).
- . . Review of: State Out of the Union: Arizona and the Final Showdown over the American Dream (2012).
- . . Review of: Angels of Mercy: White Women and the History of New York's Colored Orphan Asylum (2011).
- . . Review of: Medgar Evers: Mississippi Martyr (2011).
- . . Review of: Race, Class, and the Death Penalty: Capital Punishment in American History (2011).
- . . Review of: Sharpeville: A Massacre and Its Consequences (2011).
- . . Review of: The Clamorgans: One Family's History of Race in America (2011).
- . . Review of: The History of White People (2011).
- . . Review of: Property Rites: The Rhinelander Trial, Passing, and the Protection of W (2010).
- . . Review of: The Making of African America: The Four Great Migrations (2010).
- Davis, Thomas J. "Who's Who? An American Scandal, 1920s Style". (2010).
- . . Review of: Borderline Americans: Racial Division and Labor War in the Arizona Borderlands (2009).
- . . Review of: Guantánamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power (2009).
- . . Review of: Mongrel Nation: The America Begotten by Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings (2009).
- . . Review of: Slavery's Constitution: From Revolution to Ratification (2009).
- . . Review of: Ten Hills Farm: The Forgotten History of Slavery in the North (2009).
- . . Review of: The Origins of African-American Interests in International Law (2009).
- . . Review of: We Shall Overcome: A History of Civil Rights and the Law (2009).
- Davis, Thomas J. Runyon v. McCrary, 427 U.S. 160 (1976). Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (2008).
- Davis, Thomas J. Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma, 332 U.S. 631 (1948). Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (2008).
- Davis, Thomas J. Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1 (1971). Encyclopedia of the Supreme Court of the United States (2008).
- . . Review of: April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Death and How It Changed America (2008).
- . . Review of: Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen (2008).
- . . Review of: How Race Survived U.S. History: From the American Revolution to the Present (2008).
- . . Review of: Long Overdue: The Politics of Racial Reparations (2008).
- . . Review of: Mr. and Mrs. Prince: How an Extraordinary Eighteenth-Century Family Moved out of Slavery and into Legend (2008).
- . . Review of: New York Burning: Liberty, Slavery, and Conspiracy In 18th-Century Manhattan (2008).
- . . Review of: The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family (2008).
- Davis, Thomas. U.S. Supreme Court and Selected Ninth Circuit Employment and Labor Law Case Decisions-- 2008 Update. (2008).
- . . Review of: A Slave No More: Two Men Who Escaped to Freedom (2007).
- . . Review of: Beyond Garrison: Antislavery and Social Reform (2007).
- . . Review of: Buried in the Bitter Waters: The Hidden History of Racial Cleansing in America (2007).
- . . Review of: Escape on the Pearl: The Heroic Bid for Freedom (2007).
- . . Review of: I've Got a Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad (2007).
- . . Review of: Slavery, Resistance, Freedom (2007).
- . . Review of: The Birth of Black America: The First African Americans (2007).
- . . Review of: The Jamestown Project (2007).
- . . Review of: The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James (2007).
- . . Review of: The Slave Ship: A Human History (2007).
- Thomas Davis. Patriarchy, Politics, and Power: The Law, Rape, Race, and Reality in Slavery and Segregation. Journal of African American History (2006).
- Davis, Thomas J. Race Relations in America. (2006).
- . . Review of: Black and White Manhattan: The History of Racial Formation in Colonial New York City (2006).
- . . Review of: Encyclopedia of African-American Culture and History: The Black Experience in the Americas. 2nd ed (2006).
- . . Review of: Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World (2006).
- . . Review of: Middle Passages: African-American Journeys to Africa, 1787-2005 (2006).
- . . Review of: My Confederate Kinfolk: A Twenty-First Century Freedwoman Confronts Her Roots (2006).
- . . Review of: Redemption: The Last Battle of the Civil War (2006).
- . . Review of: The Education of Booker T. Washington: American Democracy and the Idea of Race Relations (2006).
- . . Review of: The Encyclopedia of African American History 1618-1895: From the Colonial Period to the Age of Frederick Douglass. 3 vols (2006).
- . . Review of: Turn Away Thy Son: Little Rock, the Crisis That Shook the Nation (2006).
- . . Review of: Uncle Tom or New Negro? African-American Reflections on Booker T. Washington and Up from Slavery One Hundred Years Later (2006).
- . . Review of: White Guilt: How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era (2006).
- Davis, Thomas. Patriarchy, Politics, and Power: the Law, Rape, Race, and Reality in Slavery and Segregation. (2006).
- . . Review of: Bound for Freedom: Black Los Angeles in Jim Crow America (2005).
- . . Review of: Complicity: How the North Promoted, Prolonged, and Profited from Slavery (2005).
- . . Review of: Emancipation Betrayed: The Hidden History of Black Organizing and White Violence in Florida from Reconstruction to the Bloody Election of 1920 (2005).
- . . Review of: Knocking Down Barriers: My Fight for Black America: A Memoir (2005).
- . . Review of: Living Black History: How Re-Imagining the African- American Past Can Remake America's Racial Future (2005).
- . . Review of: My Face Is Black Is True: Callie House and the Struggle for Ex-Slave Reparations (2005).
- . . Review of: No Coward Soldiers: Black Cultural Politics and Postwar America (2005).
- . . Review of: Slavery in New York (2005).
- . . Review of: The Informant: The FBI, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Murder of Viola Liuzzo (2005).
- . . Review of: The Sounds of Slavery: Discovering African American History Through Songs, Sermons, and Speech (2005).
- . . Review of: Uncommon Valor: A Story of Race, Patriotism, and Glory in the Final Battles of the Civil War (2005).
- . . Review of: Why Not Every Man? African Americans and Civil Disobedience in the Quest for the Dream (2005).
- Davis, Thomas. Refusing to Stand Any Longer for White Supremacy: Commentary on Signpost to Freedom: The 1953 Baton Rouge Bus Boycott. (2005).
- Davis, Thomas J. Jim Crow Era. In Black Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia, edited by Darlene Clark Hine et al (2004).
- Thomas Davis. More than Segregation, Racial Identity: The Neglected Question in Plessy v. Ferguson. Washington and Lee Race and Ethnic Ancestry Law Journal (2004).
- Davis, Thomas J. More than Segregation, Racial Identity: The Neglected Question in Plessy v. Ferguson. Washington and Lee Race and Ethnic Ancestry Law Journal (2004).
- Davis, Thomas J. Vouching for Vouchers? Zelman v. Simmons-Harris in Light of Lessons on Ends and Means from Brown v. Board of Education. Rutgers Race & the Law Review (2004).
- . . Review of: Affirmative Action: An Encyclopedia (2004).
- . . Review of: African American Lives (2004).
- . . Review of: Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age (2004).
- . . Review of: Black Trials: Citizenship from the Beginnings of Slavery to the End of Caste (2004).
- . . Review of: Brothers in Arms: The Courageous Story of WWII's 761's "Black Panthers" (2004).
- . . Review of: Civil Rights Chronicle: The African-American Struggle for Freedom (2004).
- . . Review of: Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance (2004).
- . . Review of: Fighting for America: Black Soldiers - The Unsung Heroes of World War II (2004).
- . . Review of: Ready for Revolution: The Life and Struggles of Stokley Carmichael (Kwame Ture) (2004).
- . . Review of: Separate and Unequal: Homer Plessy and the Supreme Court Decision that Legalized Racism (2004).
- . . Review of: Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson (2004).
- Thomas Davis. Vouching for Vouchers? Zelman v. Simmons-Harris in Light of Lessons on Ends and Means from Brown v. Board of Education. Rutgers Race & the Law Review (2003).
- Thomas Davis, Michael Conniff. The Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade. In The African Diaspora Experience. Edited by Glen O. Phillips (2003).
- Davis, Thomas J. Brooke, Edward M. Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. De Priest, Oscar. Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. Freedmen's Bureau. Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. Himes, Chester. Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. Killens, John Oliver. Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. Logan, Rayford W. Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. Powell, Adam Clayton Jr. Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. Trotter, William Monroe. Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. U.S. v. Cruikshank, 92 U.S. 542 (1876). Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. U.S. v. Reese, 92 U.S. 214 (1876). Encyclopedia of African-American Civil Rights: From Emancipation to the Present (2002).
- Thomas Davis. Conspiracy and Credibility: Look Who's Talking, about What -- Law Talk and Loose Talk. William and Mary Quarterly (2002).
- Thomas Davis. Employment Law Basics: Nuts & Bolts of the Employment Relationship. Maricopa County Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education Program, Phoenix, AZ (2002).
- Thomas Davis. The Community of Africans in the Americas: Colonialism to CARICOM and TransAfrica. Research and Diversity Journal (2002).
- Davis, Thomas J. Race, Identity, and the Law: Underlying Questions in Plessy v. Ferguson. Race on Trial (2002).
- Thomas Davis. Another Place, Another Promise, Another Paradise? Another Perspective on Black Migration, Promised Lands, and Paradises. Afro-Americans in New York Life and History (2001).
- Thomas Davis, Azubike Kalu-Nwiwu. Education, Ethnicity and National Integration in the History of Nigeria: Continuing Problems of Africa's Colonial Legacy. Journal of Negro History (2001).
- . . Review of: "Schooling the Freed People": Teaching, Learning, and the Struggle for Black Freedom, 1861-1876 (0).
- . . Review of: David Ruggles: A Black Radical Abolitionist and the Underground Railroad in New York City (0).
- . . Review of: Property Rites: The Rhinelander Trial, Passing, and the Protection of Whiteness (0).
- . . Review of: Setting Down the Sacred Past African-American Race Histories (0).
- . . Review of: Tasting Freedom: Octavius Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America (0).
- . . Review of: What Comes Naturally: Miscegenation Law and the Making of Race in America (0).
- Davis, Thomas J. "Evaluating Black Public Education and Political Mobilization in Theory and Practice in Local and Comparative Perspective--A Comment.". Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH) 98th Annual Convention (Oct 2013).
- Davis, Thomas J. "Balancing Obama: The Black Struggle of Politics on the Margin.". Barack Obama and American Democracy IV: National Conference of the Study of President Obama and Co (Mar 2013).
- Davis, Thomas J. "'She Didn't Half Do Nothin': Memorializing Grassroots Contributions to the Civil Rights of Black Communities.". "A Legend in the Valley" (Helen Katherine Mason) Program. Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, AZ, 28 Fe (Feb 2013).
- Davis, Thomas J. Employment & Labor Law Update--2009: U.S. Supreme Court and Selected Ninth Circuit Cases. Maricopa County Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education presentation (Sep 2009).
- Davis Thomas J. Promises, Purposes, and Progress: Revisiting Landmark Civil Rights Legislation and the Americans with Disabilities Act -- Voting Rights in America: The Long, Continuing Struggle. State Bar of Arizona 2009 Convention (Jun 2009).
- Davis, Thomas J. Sweetheart Today, Plaintiff Tomorrow. Maricopa County Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education presentation (May 2009).
- Davis, Thomas J. "Reconstructing Federalism: Rethinking Rights in the Face of Race, 1865-1890: A Brief Comment," Rights, Politics, and Principal on the Waite Court. American Society for Legal History, 2008 Annual Meeting (Nov 2008).
- Davis, Thomas. "21st Century Challenges to the Constitution". Lunch and Liberty Series: 21st Century Challenges to the Constitution (Sep 2007).
- Davis, Thomas. The Concept of Diversity: Understanding and Misunderstanding. Foundation for Inter-Cultural Dialogue Annual Dialogue and Friendship Dinner (Sep 2007).
- Davis, Thomas. War and the Constitution of "We, the People": American Values and the Struggle at Home. Values and the Constitution, the Constitution and Values (Sep 2007).
- Davis, Thomas. The Color of Civil Rights: The Public Policy of Race Relations. Invited Lecture at Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland (Nov 2006).
- Davis, Thomas. Race Relations in America. Inside the Author's Studio: Southern University Law Center Civil Rights and Justice Institute (Oct 2006).
- Davis, Thomas. Law in the Workplace. Healing Racism Series - Practical Racism: My Way or the Highway (Sep 2006).
- Davis, Thomas. Institutional Stasis, Success, and Scores: Significant Steps and Drops in the Bucket in Legal Education Diversity. The Fourth Annual John P. Morris Colloquium, College of Law, Arizona State University (Apr 2005).
- Davis, Thomas. Rape in Black and White - Long Before Kobe: U.S. Law in the Performance of Race and Sex. BLSA (Black Law Students Association) Black History Celebration Keynote, College of Law, Arizona Sta (Feb 2005).
- Davis, Thomas. A Lighthouse, a Mirror, a Window: Structures for the Stories the African Burial Ground Can Tell. African Burial Ground Social, Cultural and Economic History Panel, National Park Service Technical A (Nov 2004).
- Davis, Thomas. Citizenship, Identity, and Liberty in the Shifting Confines of Gender and Race: A Comment. Race, Citizenship and Liberty in Global Perspective, Panel, American Society for Legal History (ASLH (Oct 2004).
- Davis, Thomas. Not Then, Not Now: Race, Reality, and Resistance to School Desegregation - From Brown to Tomorrow. Brown v. Board of Education: A 50 Year Perspective Panel, Arizona Bar Association Annual Convention (Jun 2004).
- Davis, Thomas. Choice, Equality, and Public School Funding: Legacies and Lessons from Brown v. Board of Education. Looking Back, Moving Forward: The Unfinished Business of Brown v. Board of Education, Hood College (Mar 2004).
- Davis, Thomas. There Are No Second-Class Citizens: How Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Changed Arizona. Arizona Supreme Court, Administrative Office of the Courts, Educational Services Division
- Davis, Thomas. War and the Constitution of ‘We, the People’: Civil Liberties, Rights, and Responsibilities in Crisis. 2007 Wayne N. And Julia E. Aspinall Lecture
- Davis, Thomas. "Applied Legal History: The Jena 6". The Southeast/Southwest People of Color Legal Scholarship Conference
- Davis, Thomas. Noncompete Restrictions in Brief: Extending Employment Relationships to Protect Business Interests. Protecting Your Business: Drafting and Enforcing Post-Employment Restrictive Covenants
- Davis, Thomas. Origins and Outlines of Civil Rights in U.S. Law. We, the People: The Citizen and the Constitution -- Civil Rights Training
- Davis, Thomas. Race & Politics: Contemporary Issues. A Healing Racism Conversation: A Forum for Open Conversation on Race Relations
- Davis, Thomas. The Essence and Value of Diversity on the Court. Conversations on the Supreme Court: Diversity at the Court
- Davis, Thomas. Torture, Slavery, and the U.S. Constitution. Constitution Day Program
- Davis, Thomas. U.S. Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit Employment & Labor Law Case Update. 2008 Employment Law Update CLE
- Davis, Thomas. 40 Years of Loving: U.S. History and Law of Interracial Sex and Marriage. Healing Racism Community Forum
- Davis, Thomas. Continuities and Discontinuities in the Civil Rights Struggle: A Little History. Race and Civil Rights in Contemporary America: The Jena Six in Perspective
- Law and History Review (the journal of the American Society for Legal History), manuscript evaluator (2015 - Present)
- University Academic Success Program, Panelist (2015 - Present)
- Foundation for Inter-Cultural Dialogue, Member, board of advisors (2014 - Present)
- Foundation for Inter-Cultural Dialogue, Member, board of advisors (2014 - Present)
- Visions & Revisions: New Scholars, New Interpretations, An Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Journal, editorial board member (2011 - Present)
- Visions & Revisions: New Scholars, New Interpretations, An Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Journal, editorial board member (2011 - Present)
- Visions & Revisions: New Scholars, New Interpretations, An Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Journal, editorial board member (2011 - Present)
- American Bar Association (ABA) Advisory Panel, Member (2006 - Present)
- American Bar Association (ABA) Advisory Panel, Member (2006 - Present)
- American Bar Association (ABA) Advisory Panel, Member (2006 - Present)
- Tempe Historical Society, Lecturer (2005 - Present)
- U.S. National Park Service, Expert advisor, African Burial Ground Site, New York City NY (2005 - Present)
- Lawyers on Call Public Outreach Program, State Bar of Arizona, Panelist (2004 - Present)
- Employment & Labor Law Section, Maricopa County [AZ] Bar Association, Executive Board member (2004 - Present)
- Employment & Labor Law Section, Maricopa County [AZ] Bar Association, Executive Board member (2004 - Present)
- Employment & Labor Law Section, Maricopa County [AZ] Bar Association, Executive Board member (2004 - Present)
- Muslim Law Students Association, College of Law, Arizona State University, Faculty advisor (2004 - Present)
- Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics Affiliates Council, Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, Arizona State University, Tempe, Member (2003 - Present)
- Superior Court of Arizona for the County of Maricopa, Judicial Merit Commission, Commissioner (2002 - Present)
- Moot Court, ASU College of Law, Tempe, AZ, Practice round judge (2001 - Present)
- R. Kelly Hocker Employment and Labor Law Writing Competition Committee, Labor & Employment Section of the State Bar of Arizona, Member (2001 - Present)
- Committee on Law and Social Sciences (COLASS), Member (1998 - Present)
- Committee on African and African American Research (CAAAR), Member (1997 - Present)
- Community Legal Services/Maricopa County Bar Association (MCBA), Volunteer Lawyers Program, Volunteer lawyer (1997 - Present)
- Community Legal Services/Maricopa County Bar Association (MCBA), Volunteer Lawyers Program, Volunteer lawyer (1997 - Present)
- Community Legal Services/Maricopa County Bar Association (MCBA), Volunteer Lawyers Program, Volunteer lawyer (1997 - Present)
- Community Legal Services/Maricopa County Bar Association (MCBA), Volunteer Lawyers Program, Volunteer lawyer (1997 - Present)
- Community Legal Services/Maricopa County Bar Association (MCBA), Volunteer Lawyers Program, Volunteer lawyer (1997 - Present)
- Community Legal Services/Maricopa County Bar Association (MCBA), Volunteer Lawyers Program, Volunteer lawyer (1997 - Present)
- Volunteer Lawyers Program (VLP), Community Legal Services, Volunteer lawyer (1997 - Present)
- A. Wade Smith Lecture Committee, Member (1996 - Present)
- Membership Committee, American Society for Legal History (ASLH), Committee member (2006 - 2018)
- Membership Committee, American Society for Legal History (ASLH), Committee member (2006 - 2015)
- Law and History Review (the journal of the American Society for Legal History), Editorial board member (1996 - 2015)
- Superior Court of Arizona for the County of Maricopa, Judicial Merit Commission, Chairman (2006 - 2015)
- Superior Court of Arizona for the County of Maricopa, Judicial Merit Commission, commissioner (2002 - 2015)
- Superior Court of Arizona for the County of Maricopa, Judicial Merit Commission, Chairman (2006 - 2014)
- Graduate Admissions Committee (history), member (2013 - 2014)
- Roger Adelson Honors Thesis Award Committee, co-chair (2013 - 2013)
- Membership Committee, American Society for Legal History (ASLH), Committee member (2006 - 2012)
- Superior Court of Arizona for the County of Maricopa, Judicial Merit Commission, Chairman (2006 - 2012)
- North American Field Ph.D. Examination Committee, member (2011 - 2011)
- National Humanities Center, Selection Committee Member (2009 - 2010)
- Committee on Research Grant Awards, American Historical Association (AHA), Committee Chair (2007 - 2008)
- State Bar of Arizona "Lawyers on Call" Program in partnership with Channel 12 (NBC/KPNX-TV), Lawyer on Call (Landlord/Tenant) (2008 - 2008)
- State Bar of Arizona and Channel 12 KPNX-TV, Lawyer on Call (Employment issues) (2008 - 2008)
- National Humanities Center, fellowship application evaluator (2007 - 2007)
- Rhodes/Marshall/Mitchell Scholarship Committee, committee member (2007 - 2007)
- African American history position, committee member (2007)
- African Burial Ground National Monument, Interpretive Center expert advisor (2007)
- State Bar of Arizona and Channel 12 KPNX-TV, Lawyer on Call (Employment issues) (2007)
- Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics, Affiliate member (2003 - 2006)
- Department of History, The Ohio State University, Faculty adviser/referee (2006 - 2006)
- State Bar of Arizona "Lawyers on Call" Program in partnership with Channel 12 (NBC/KPNX-TV), Lawyer on Call (Landlord/Tenant) (2006 - 2006)
- Department of African and African American Studies, The Ohio State University, Faculty adviser (2005 - 2006)
- Joan and David Lincoln Center for Applied Ethics Affiliates Council, Member (2003 - 2004)
- Law and History Review (the journal of the American Society for Legal History), Editorial board member (1996 - 2004)
- Capstone Press, Consulting editor (2004)
- Public Broadcasting System (PBS) television documentary program "Slavery and the Making of America", Contributor/Consultant (2004)
- National Humanities Center, Fellowship applications evaluator (2003 - 2003)
- American Society for Legal History (ASLH), Publications Committee Member (2003)
- Bedford/St. Martin's Press, Manuscript evaluator (2003)
- NALSA (Native American Law Students Association), Moot Court Competition, brief writing judge (2003)
- PBS/WNET-13, Contributor/Consultant (2003)
- Superior Court of Arizona for the County of Maricopa, Judicial Merit Commission, Commissioner (2003)
- University Press of Kansas, Manuscript evaluator (2003)
- Volunteer Lawyers Program, Maricopa County (AZ) Bar Association and Community Legal Services, Volunteer Law (2003)
- Employment Law Basics: Nuts & Bolts of the Employment Relationship, Maricopa County Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education Program, ASU Downtown Center, Phoenix AZ, Faculty presenter (2002 - 2002)
- HNBA (Hispanic National Bar Association) Appellate Moot Court Competition, ASU College of Law, Tempe, AZ, Practice round judge (2002 - 2002)
- BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) "Meet the Ancestors" Program, London, England UK, Program consultant and interviewee (2001 - 2001)
- State University of New York Press, Manuscript evaluator (2001 - 2001)