By: Karen C. Wallace, Esq.
After a brief hiatus, I attended my local bar association‘s first meeting of the bar year. This bar association of predominantly African American attorneys has a proud and distinctive history of producing some of America’s most notable attorneys and jurists, many of whom greatly influenced our nation’s social justice trajectory. African American bar associations evolved at a point in history when African American attorneys were not allowed membership in mainstream bar associations. Once barriers were lifted, they remained viable because they uniquely addressed societal issues of injustice and inequality.
These esteemed bar associations continue to exist, but I have to question their current level of effectiveness. Although there remain individual members who are committed to the achievement of justice and the eradication of injustice, these individual’s actions are often overshadowed by what appears to be a cloak of malaise among significant numbers of African American attorneys on these topics. Unlike as we saw with historical legends Thurgood Marshall, John Langston, Earl B. Dickerson, Wiley Branton, and others, in recent history one does not see very much grass roots advocacy from African American lawyers. Today, this is in the face of unprecedented levels of high unemployment, inadequate and unequal education, inadequate health care, mass imprisonment, food deserts, environmental hazards, lack of adequate housing, credit discrimination and disproportionate levels of poverty within African American and poor communities.
African American attorneys let us consider the legacy we wish to leave behind for future generations. Sure, we can work to attain personal fortunes, but where does this take us beyond ourselves? Past generations tirelessly sacrificed to open doors that have allowed us to hold highly regarded positions in large law firms, corporations, and the public arena and to also own successful private law firms. What will we leave behind? What will be our legacy? What will happen to the least of thee if our voices remain silent and we do not step up to the plate?
Karen C. Wallace, Esq. is an attorney, executive and adjunct professor from Chicago, Illinois.
© 2011 by Karen C. Wallace
