News Release: June 3, 2020
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Oregon Women Lawyers Statement on the Killing of George Floyd
Oregon Women Lawyers shares the outrage and mourning at the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Philando Castile, Freddie Gray, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Shelly Frey, Atatiana Jefferson, and the many others who have been murdered or harmed by law enforcement and white vigilantes, but whose names didn’t make the headlines. The violence committed against Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC), in Oregon and the broader U.S., comes in many forms and is oppressive, systemic, and pervasive. It must end.
Oregon Women Lawyers condemns white supremacy in all of its implicit and explicit forms, and is committed to working toward equity, justice, and an end to oppression in our legal system and beyond. We acknowledge that racism and oppression are systemic and entrenched. As lawyers, we recognize that we can be complicit with an unfair system or use our privilege to dismantle it. As legal professionals, we have a responsibility to be informed and engaged on these issues. We affirm our commitment to look at our own individual and structural biases and eradicate them, by continuing to require anti-racism training for our board of directors, engaging in ongoing education, and critically reviewing and changing guiding documents. We affirm commitment to speak out and work against systemic racism and police brutality and towards access to justice for all.
Click here for anti-racism resources.
We also encourage engaging with organizations such as Self-Enhancement, Inc., NAACP, Don’t Shoot Pdx, Urban League, Black Lives Matter, Black United Fund of Oregon, Black Parent Initiative, Momentum Alliance, and the Oregon Justice Resource Center.
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