an open Letter to the Bar LeaDership institute cLass of 2017-2018
Bar leadership Institute Committee
Continued from page 20
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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