an open Letter to the Bar LeaDership institute cLass of 2017-2018
Bar leadership Institute Committee
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brand-new path is difficult, but not more difficult than remaining in a situation, which is not nurturing to the whole woman.” The visionaries we encountered over the year— from Mindy Murphy at The Spring, to General Paul Bontrager at MacDill Air Force Base, to the HCBA’ s very own Gordon Hill— embody this principle and actively work to effect positive change.
Each of them recognizes the poignant reality that our community exists in a state that is not nurturing to the whole woman( or man). The ills that plague our society at the macro level permeate the microcosm that is our legal profession as well. Certainly, they and their predeces- sors have made great strides in ridding our legal community of these issues— over the years, our legal community has come to affirmatively reject racism, sexism, and a whole host of other – isms and unjustified phobias.
But we find ourselves in the midst of a societal awakening, sparked largely by jarring current events, from the overt statements of bigotry emanating from halls of power to the # MeToo movement. We are loathe to ignore the fact that, despite the rhetoric about fairness and equality, dignity, and respect, our communities are far from reformed at the micro level.
And so I ask: as the self-professed optimistic leaders of tomorrow, are we content remaining in a situation that is not actually nurturing to“ the other”?
The answer is self-evident. We accepted the awesome responsibility that accompanies leadership when we were inducted into the BLI.
Let us show the HCBA that we are worthy of this honor. Let us use the tools this program provided and blaze the trails that our predecessors have already begun to forge. Together, we can unlock the secret to a Bar constituency that is just as tolerant and inclusive at its core as it is on the surface.
Author: Sumayya Saleh – Office of the Public Defender, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
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