In recent years, this era has been marked by various symbols of unity and solidarity—pink pussy hats, black squares on Instagram, and safety pins worn on jackets. However, distinguishing genuine “awareness-raising” efforts from mere “clout chasing” and virtue signaling can be a difficult task. As we approach the ABA’s upcoming Equity Summit, the focus needs to shift away from mere surface-level discussions to actionable plans that can facilitate the critical changes needed in our society. As the LA Times and Above The Law have reported, this has become particularly evident in the face of gentrification and the relentless attacks on diversity.
The ABA’s Equity Summit, while educating legal professionals about pressing diversity, equity, and inclusion issues, must go a step further. The virtual conference needs to outline concrete steps on how to address these problems and foster open dialogues that facilitate this. Firstly initiated in 2021, the summit intends to respond to the ongoing discussions addressing racism and inequality in our societies.
The lack of diversity in the legal profession—with a significant shortage of Black, Latino, Pacific-Islander, and Asian lawyers—is palpable. Especially for first-generation lawyers or those hailing from less affluent families, the road to building a career in law can be daunting. Criticism is frequently levelled at law schools that offer half-hearted mental health checks via emails or pizza parties. However, the million-dollar question remains: what feasible steps are being taken to address these glaring issues?
The ABA Summit plans to hold discussions on enhancing diversity within the judiciary. Such a discussion, however, should be action-oriented and result in cogent plans. For instance, considering that a quarter of federal courts according to Bloomberg have only seen white judges, we must contemplate on how to diversify this. Once that is achieved, we need our judges to commit to diversifying their teams rather than falling into the pattern where a judge may pull an RBG and go decades with only one Black clerk. With continuous attacks on affirmative action from the Supreme Court, this is a matter that needs addressing with urgency.
Among the discussions scheduled for the summit, the session on “Disability Justice: Path Toward True Equity and Inclusion” looks promising. Ideally, discussions of such nature should result in actionable points that the ABA could then utilize to hold law schools accountable.
We are in an era where issues requiring urgent attention and action stand illuminated. It’s high time we transitioned from deliberations to actions. These conversations and sentiments, as critical as they are, need to transform into tangible actions before the Supreme Court potentially limits our ability to do so further.