Resources on Race and Justice


The State Bar of Michigan is hosting an ongoing virtual Race and Justice Forum for Michigan lawyers, affinity and local bars, and justice system stakeholders. The purpose of the Forum is to stimulate conversation, advance knowledge, foster understanding of different perspectives, brainstorm solutions, and showcase opportunities to learn or help. One of the products of the Forum is this resource page. All resources shared below have been recommended by a participant of the Forum.

SBM serves a diverse group of more than 47,000 attorneys with a wide variety of perspectives. The information shared below should not be construed as an endorsement, but rather as an educational resource available to Michigan lawyers who are interested in this topic.

If you are a representative of a recognized affinity or local bar and would like to offer a resource for consideration for this page, please submit it using the link below:

Submit Race and Justice Resources Here

If you would like to participate in the Race and Justice Forum, please share your name and email address below.



Education

23 in’23 Diversity and Inclusion Challenge

Thank you to all that have participated in the Detroit Bar Association 22 in ’22 Diversity & Inclusion Challenge.

We had some great open discussions on what we have learned, changes we can make and ways to celebrate our diversity. We encourage you to continue, or anyone else to start, the Challenge and ask you to follow the link below to the Challenge PDF for ‘23. The 23 in ‘23 Challenge is brought to you in partnership between the Detroit Bar Association and Ingham County Bar Association.

CONTINUE THE CHALLENGE: Download the PDF

Submitted by: Detroit Bar Association

21-Day Pride Month Challenge

The American Bar Association is celebrating Pride month by inviting people to participate in a 21 Day challenge to learn more about LGBTQ+ issues and the law. Similar to other recent 21 Day challenges respecting ethnicity and gender this is an opportunity to participate in learning and sharing on important topics within the community.

Submitted by: American Bar Association

OCBA Anti-Racism Statement

The Oakland County Bar Association adopted this statement regarding its committment to anti-racism. Individuals and firms are invited to sign on. You do not have to be an OCBA member to sign.

Peak Law & the Black Law Matters Podcast

The Peak Law Movement is a group of lawyers committed to using our legal expertise to make the world a better place through our actions and our impacts. We work together to support and push each other to rise to the opportunities and challenges that our profession and our world face. Peak Law is a space for lawyers interested in advocacy. We welcome discussions about how others can get involved and play leadership roles.

In the Black Law Matters Podcast, former State Bar of Michigan president and founder of Peak Law, Jennifer Grieco, talks to a range of guests from the legal community about social justice and other ways we as lawyers can work together to make the world better.

A Journey to Now: Beginning the Conversation on Implicit Bias and Microaggressions

This is the first in a three-part series from the Detroit Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee on implicit bias and microaggressions. Coming from the perspective that everyone has biases, the conversation is centered around how these biases are developed and how they affect members of the legal community at all stages of their career.

Submitted by: Detroit Bar Association

Leadership Next podcast

On this episode of Fortune’s Leadership Next podcast, General Motors CEO Mary Barra discusses how to talk to your employees about race and racism, COVID-19 and unbossed leadership, and working for women. Listen on Apple Podcasts.

Submitted by: Oakland County Bar Association

Black Lawyers in America: A National Town Hall Series Session One: The Foundation

This town hall event was the first of a three-part series examining racial equity in the legal profession from the past, present and future. Panelists included:

  • Paulette Brown, a senior partner and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at Locke Lord
  • Dennis Archer, chairman emeritus of the Detroit-based firm Dickinson Wright
  • Robert Grey Jr., president of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity

Joe West, a partner at Duane Morris and the firm’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, moderated the panel discussion and current ABA President Judy Perry Martinez gave opening remarks. Watch the replay here.

Submitted by: American Bar Association

Structural Racism 101: Basic Training for Lawyers

This PowerPoint comes from a webinar on structural racism for lawyers hosted by The Detroit Bar Association in conjunction with Wayne State University Law School Professor and Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights Peter Hammer. Find more information here.

Submitted by: Detroit Bar Association

In the Name of the Law: Race in America

In this television special, host Takura Nyamfukudza of Chartier & Nyamfukudza, PLC talks with guests about what must be done next to finally achieve equality.

Submitted by: Ingham County Bar Association

Implicit Bias Videos and Toolkit

The Diversity and Inclusion 360 Commission, a one-year American Bar Association presidential initiative established by past President Paulette Brown, explored the existence of implicit bias and what can be done to combat it through a series of videos specifically targeting key players in the judicial system: judges, prosecutors and public defenders. The videos are accompanied by a toolkit that offers additional resources and materials that can be used in training programs for those groups of professionals. Find more information here.

Submitted by: American Bar Association

Syllabus: 21 Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge

The 21-Day Challenge concept was conceived several years ago by Eddie Moore, Jr. to advance deeper understandings of the intersections of race, power, privilege, supremacy and oppression. Find more information here.

Submitted by: American Bar Association

Resource list from NAAAP Detroit

The National Association of Asian American Professionals, Detroit, has compiled a list of ways for people to advocate, educate, and donate. Find more information here.

Submitted by: Michigan Asian Pacific American Bar Association

Unlocking Us podcast with Brene Brown and Ibram Kendi

This podcast provides insightful background on Ibram X. Kendi's bestseller How to Be an Antiracist, which offers a groundbreaking approach to understanding uprooting racism and inequality in our society and in ourselves. Find more information and listen here.

Submitted by: Legal Services of Eastern Michigan

 

Organizations

National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts

The National Consortium is committed to encouraging the highest courts of each state to create commissions to examine the treatment accorded minorities in their courts; sharing the collective knowledge of task forces and commissions with courts, law enforcement, and the community; and providing technical assistance and expertise to commissions, task forces, and other interested organizations and individuals on the subject of racial and ethnic fairness.

Submitted by: National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in the Courts

National Bar Association’s Police and Misconduct Task Force

The NBA Police and Misconduct Task Force was created to investigate police misconduct cases, support victims, lawyers, communities, coalition partners, and develop recommendations for structural and institutional change. Find more information here.

Submitted by: National Bar Association

State Bar of Michigan’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee

The Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee (DIAC) is charged with identifying strategies to promote a diverse and inclusive voice in all State Bar of Michigan work and communications. These include recommending practices, tools and strategies to advance diversity and inclusion at the SBM staff level, section and committee levels, and throughout the justice system. Read the full statement of DIAC's jurisdiction here. Also consider joining the efforts of the committee as a member or collaborator. Examples of DIAC activities include:

  • Brunch for Bars: A yearly opportunity to meet with bar association leaders from across the state to network and identify topics of concern for more substantive collaboration among groups.
  • Face of Justice: A pipeline program based on the National Association of Women Judges “Color of Justice “ model designed to introduce students to legal professionals via “jet mentoring” sessions and encourage them to consider a career in the law.
  • The Pipeline Program: This guide and submission form offer a way to collectively share pipeline programs from across Michigan. You can view programs that are up and running across the state or submit a program that isn’t already included.
  • Diversity and Inclusion Pledge: Sign the SBM pledge to achieve diversity and inclusion in the legal profession in Michigan here.
  • Resource page: Find a full list of DIAC resources here.

Submitted by: State Bar of Michigan

Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation

Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) is a comprehensive, national and community-based project funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change, and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism. In Michigan, four communities — Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Flint, and Lansing — received grants to do the work within communities, which includes a specific component related to law. Find more information here.

Submitted by: The Judge Charles A. Pratt Bar Association