In 1968, Algernon Johnson Cooper founded the Black American Law Students Association (BALSA) at the New York University Law School. BALSA's purpose was to effectuate change in the legal system. The association endeavored to sensitize the law and legal profession to the ever increasing needs of the Black community.

Currently, the renamed National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), the largest student-run organization in America, has over 200 chapters at law schools throughout the country. NBLSA chapters represent almost every ABA accredited law school, plus several non-accredited law schools. NBLSA chapters represent over 6,000 Black law students in six regions which encompass 48 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Recently, NBLSA established international links with Black law students in Canada, England, and South Africa who decided to model their student organizations after NBLSA.

NBLSA continues to make a positive impact on the Black community and the Black law student in particular by conducting its prestigious Frederick Douglass Moot Court Competition and expanding its national Adopt-A-School Program. In addition, through its Nelson Mandela Scholarship Program, NBLSA awards six scholarships of over $1,000 to deserving Black law students annually. With an emphasis on economic self-help and forwarding a progressive civil rights position, NBLSA continues its strong commitment to the objectives upon which the association was founded.