Steven Henry Hobbs graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University in 1975 and earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1979. He has been a visiting professor at both Florida State University and Willamette University, and has served as the Tom Bevill Chairholder of Law at the University Alabama since 1997. Professor Hobbs played a leading role in drafting the Virginia Human Rights Act.
The following article is taken from the Washington and Lee School of Law's Dean's Report of 1989-1990:
Steven joined the W&L law faculty in 1981 after serving for two years as an assistant deputy public advocate in New Jersey. A graduate of Harvard University, he received his J.D. in 1979 from the University of Pennsylvania. He also teaches professional ethics and courses on small-business theory, but his interest and research in family law have led to the publication of numerous articles in law journals across the country.
In an article published in 1982, "We Are Family: Changing Times, Changing Ideologies and Changing Law," he discussed the essential functions of the family and the traditional role of financial, material, and emotional support of its members. In subsequent articles, he has pursued the theme of the definition of "family" and the changing profile of that institution.
Now, he is concentrating his research on family law and the black family. "The law wants parents to be responsible for raising good citizens," he says, "but these laws are difficult to apply in African-American communities, where more than 60 percent of the children are born to single parents."
In his current research, Steven hopes to demonstrate that, for the black family and the black community, formal family law has had little or limited impact in positively influencing individual behavior and personal relationships. "The black family is deeply implicated in the struggle for human rights and dignity," he says.
The problems facing black families are nothing new to American society. Black families have been hard hit by poverty, poor health care, fewer educational opportunities, crime, and a high mortality rate. According to Steven, the black family has inherited "a legacy from slavery and racism and has been stripped of its ability to perform and provide the necessities of life. Blacks were denied the economic ability to adequately support a family."
The primary focus of Steven's current research centers on how black males understand and develop their roles within a familial relationship. He is examining the nature of the relationship between black men and black women when viewed within the framework of family law.
Steven uses a "law and literature approach" to explore some of the positive and negative ways these problems affect the black family by considering Alice Walker's novel The Color Purple. He focuses on the character Harpo and his struggle to be a man and head of his household.
"The liberating lessons that Harpo and other male characters learn are instructive to an analysis of the contemporary black family," says Steven. "Important social issues need to be addressed before changes can occur in family law."
As a legal scholar and a teacher of future lawyers, he feels an obligation to contribute to solving the problems legal and social barriers have placed around the lives of African-Americans.
In an article published in 1989, he details the life and work of Charles Hamilton Houston, a civil-rights lawyer and former dean and professor at Howard University School of Law, whom Steven describes as "an appropriate source for creating an agenda for scholar-activists who seek to address the problem of the color line."
Steven hopes his research will prompt some discussion on the problems of the black family, not only among lawmakers, but also among black citizens. How can they fulfill these obligations to their families? How can the state or society assist them in fulfilling these obligations?
By posing these challenges, he may generate some meaningful discourse among law scholars that will help close the gap that exists between current family laws and the majority of American families.