Throughout the month since the brutal killing of George Floyd, we have read many statements from many different kinds of organizations decrying the racism alive in this country in this moment and in its history. The best of these statements —
like those of the Coalition members featured in the June 24 issue of The Bridge —
couple the need to unequivocally condemn and reject this affront to our values with a commitment to action.
We must take this time in which we are called to confront with increased urgency the inequities in our society, as well as in our city and in our profession, to ask ourselves —
really
ask ourselves —
what we are willing to do to fix it.
Each of us has wrestled with this question over the last several weeks as we have watched the demonstrations across the nation, and indeed the world, since George Floyd’s death. Like many others, we are heartened to see the diversity among the participants in the demonstrations. And we are challenged by the increasing demand that White people —
who are the vast majority of Pittsburgh lawyers and the vast majority of the leaders of our firms and law departments —
must play a key role in tackling systemic racism and changing the dominant narrative of our society.
Each of us and each of you has tried to do this in our own firms and law departments and, collectively, through our participation in such organizations as the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and, of course, the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition.
But none of us can say with confidence that we have done enough. Otherwise, surely things would be different.
Vibrant Pittsburgh CEO Sabrina Saunders Mosby recently challenged local business leaders to “think critically about how they can use their power to affect change; to not only raise awareness about diversity and inclusion in [their own] companies, but to drive the conversations, commitments, and actions among [their] peers.”
We, the members of the Coalition’s Board of Directors, are writing to you in response to that challenge and the challenge of recent events.
We write to invite you to join with us to ask with a new sense of urgency and commitment what we are willing to do to finally make our profession and community more just, more equitable, and more inclusive. How can we use our power to create
real
change, to raise awareness about diversity and inclusion in our organizations, and to drive conversations, commitments and actions among our peers?
The COVID-19 pandemic placed so many aspects of our lives on hold and we are not unmindful of the enormous challenges we are all facing because of the resulting economic downturn. But we must not allow COVID-19 to derail our commitment to the work of the Coalition and to the work of diversity and, particularly, of inclusion.
The Coalition was formed on the foundational belief that we can make meaningful change in the Pittsburgh legal community by coming together and working together to better understand the issues and problems before us and to devise practical solutions, supporting and encouraging each other and sharing ideas and best practices.
For almost a year now, the Coalition has been planning a series of programs that seem more important now than ever —
a series we are collectively calling “Towards A Culture of Inclusion.”
This series will assist Pittsburgh’s law firms and law departments in a variety of ways, providing them with the tools, insights and opportunities that are needed in order to create a more equitable and inclusive legal community.
We have written about “Towards a Culture of Inclusion”
in our newsletters. (If you haven’t seen these brief articles, you can access all back issues of the newsletter on our website. The website also features an FAQ on the series.) In the next several weeks, you will be receiving still more information about “Towards a Culture of Inclusion”
and, importantly, an invitation to participate. We are not sure yet what form the series will take as COVID-19 continues to dog our plans but we know it will take some form this fall.
We believe that now, the series is not just important; it is crucial.
“Towards a Culture of Inclusion”
is not all we will do to respond to the urgency of the times we find ourselves in. We will continue to ask ourselves what more we can do, right now, to lead to a more equitable profession, city and nation. James Baldwin wrote: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” You have signaled your willingness to face what needs to be changed in our legal community through your membership in the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition and we take enormous comfort in the realization that we are all in this together. We are stronger together and we will all benefit when Pittsburgh is one the most diverse and inclusive legal communities in the nation.
Thank you for your ongoing support of the Coalition.
Very truly yours,
Members of the Board of Directors
Donald C. Bluehorn II, Chair
Geovette E. Washington, Vice Chair
Peter Russ, Treasurer
Eric Cottle, Secretary
April M. Barton
Jeff Heeter
Joseph Milcoff
Jennifer S. Park
Tony J. Thompson
David B. White
Amy J. Wildermuth
