Live In Memory | Lest We Forget

On the Paralegal Power blog today I will share with you a letter I wrote the Nebraska State Bar Association. 

To Whom It May Concern:

I want to begin by thanking you in advance for your time and this opportunity to be heard. To be heard is a huge consideration that I sincerely appreciate.

I have a critical message to share with you, and I know no better way than to speak from my heart. I have given much thought to this communication. I have wondered for years, how do I tell these seemingly well-intentioned people, primarily if not solely, of European descent that white supremacy is largely the cause of Nebraska Bar Association’s current situation of disproportionately disbarred attorneys of color?

Well, let me start by telling you that when I heard an attorney of color try to make that same argument at her disbarment hearing, I was shocked and disappointed to listen to her even attempt to blame her bad behavior on racism. As a person of color, I felt like she made all minorities in the legal field look unaccountable by her remarks. I was embarrassed for her and couldn’t believe that she could try to infer her situation had anything to do with the complexion of her skin.

However, approximately one year ago in a desperate attempt to save my children and understand the problems facing North Omaha, I moved back to the Pacific Northwest and intensely studied the issues only to find that disbarred attorney was correct. Not to say that the disbarred attorney did no wrong, I do not believe that at all.

Only that I know that this particular attorney had to understand the institutional and structural racism that she battled daily, the attorney I am referencing without name started her career as a paralegal, then went to law school. She later taught African-American studies at a state university.

She knew these issues as a college professor, a person of color, a legal professional that started from the bottom, a person who studied for the bar exam, a person who practiced law. She knew these issues all too well. What she failed miserably at doing was articulating any argument to support the claim or link it to the disparities Nebraskan attorneys of color face. I hope that this letter explains the things she did not.

I was born to a Mexican mother in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. At approximately five or six-years-old, it became apparent to me that my complexion and golden-colored hair were different than the rest of my family. My dark-complected grandmother, who only spoke Spanish promised me my life would be better because of it. Just another thing she was right about. The disparities in my own family have pushed me to understand racism better.

Being a fair-complected paralegal, I have often felt like a fly on the wall. I have had the great privilege of hearing the candid racist and anti-racist ideas of people in the legal field for almost fifteen years now. I could write a book. But my objective is not to out any individual racists. I have sought first to understand this issue. Now I would like the opportunity to share with you what I have learned.

I want to start by discussing the word “race.” This word has perplexed me. I know many of my friends who identify as white told me they have never thought twice about it. Well, I am also required to identify as white. But by that, I was mystified. I look at my complexion and agree; I am the same complexion as other “whites.” But growing up, it was always reinforced to my family and me that we are not white. Being in the legal field has also been another reinforcement that I am not white.

This past year as I began to study race, I quickly came across the first civil rights case of the 1960s – Hernandez v. Texas. It was in studying that case that I learned that people of Mexican descent became white when the Treaty of Hidalgo was signed. Hernandez v. Texas argued that this white status that the treaty gave us meant nothing when it came to equal rights.

Well, If Mexicans became white that easily, and it did little to promote equality, what is being white? And that’s when I found out that the Irish, Czech, and Italians didn’t always identify as white. Unlike my friends of Irish, Czech, and Italian descent, members of my family do not believe they are white. They laugh at me when I try to discuss these issues with them. My mother is intrigued but still baffled when I tell her white is a legal status, and legally she is white.

To understand what it is to be white, I first needed to understand the term race. The word race as a term to categorize humans was first introduced into the world by way of the French language. Jean Nicot, the man who brought tobacco to France, also wrote dictionaries. He included the word as described “means descent… it is said that a man, a horse, a dog or another animal is from good or bad race.”

Why does this matter and how is it applicable to the disproportionate number of attorneys of color being disbarred? Because this is proof that race is an illusion. To see the utter injustice of skin color being such a firm predictor of success in the legal field, knowing it is all based on an illusion should be eye-opening. And we have first to understand it as an illusion, or rather if you look it up in the Britannica encyclopedia, it will call it an idea.

This idea is mainly responsible for our implicit and explicit biases toward people of different heritages. The United States and much of America and Africa have bought into the concept of race. And although people can easily understand that race is simply an idea, they have trouble understanding that despite being good people, they have implicit and sometimes explicit ideas of white supremacy.

And I don’t just mean people of European descent. The ideas of white supremacy are often embedded in the minds of people of all heritages. In fact, when my grandmother told me as a child, my life would be easier because of my complexion, that was my first proof she also prescribed to this ideology. Her adamantly being offended to being mistaken for a Native American was another way she reinforced this ideology.

But how can this be if race is actually a protected class of people under the Civil Rights Act of 1964? This is impossible, right? The truth is the legal field is not ready to recognize and abolish race as an illusion.

You may be familiar with the Clark Doll Experiment. The little brown children mainly identified the brown baby dolls as the bad and ugly dolls and the fair complected dolls as good and pretty dolls. This was shocking and heartbreaking to hear and helped change laws in the ‘60s. Since then, most of us who learned about the study feel like we must do something to assist in the self-image of these brown children.

Rarely is another perspective given on the study. If brown complected children are taught white supremacy at a young age, how could fair complected children not be taught these same views? And how would these types of ideas make practicing law in Nebraska for a person of color extremely more difficult?

The truth is, we must also consider that fair-complected people from a young age share the same ideas based on what society tells us. The idea that you are better than someone of another race is racist. Some people think that they are only better than another race because that race has been historically marginalized and is thus suffering from racism. That is a common racist idea many people who do not identify as racist feel. I feel this idea is particularly common in Nebraska.

Once again, let me remind you, these racist ideas are not limited to people of European descent. One must only look at which attorneys the black community supports. Rarely do black attorneys receive the support of the black attorneys. Surely this is related to the negative self-image that the black community continues to battle. We simply cannot ignore or pretend that the legal field in Nebraska is fair for people of all heritages.

Throughout this process, I had to come to terms with my own racist ideas. Me. A racist. Yeah. It was not who I meant to be. It is not a way that anyone would even describe me. I certainly didn’t identify as that. I fought against racism. I fight for equality. However, every single idea that I have ever had that in some way implies we as human beings are not equal is racist. Every single thought that fails to take into account truly equal, just and fair treatment among all people is racist. Even if it is meant with good reason and even if it was embedded in my thoughts from a young age. Especially if it is reinforced by the current president of the United States.

I have children, biological and adopted, of different complexions and national origins. I want to raise them to be accountable and not to blame the color of their skin for the obstacles they may encounter. And for the first 19 years of parenting, that is what I did.

But after 19 years of seeing the blatant disparities facing my children based upon their complexions, I could no longer pretend that I could treat them the same. I had to go through great lengths to protect my dark-skinned children from the juvenile system and fight harder for them to have equal access to education.

Yet, I still wanted to treat them equally. I continued to hold them all accountable the same way. Until approximately a year ago when I finally realized that this common-sense approach to the issue was contributing to the injustices they face every day.

As a mother, this is easy for me. It is easy for me to look at all of my children and say I must go out of my way to protect these ones who are continually fighting injustices. As a family, it is easy. The siblings who see their darker complected siblings struggling are eager to make an extra effort to level the playing field and make sure everyone in our family has the same opportunities.

If only we could indeed look at each other as sisters and brothers like the Lakota “Mitakuye Oyasin,” after all, we are all related.

Maya Angelou taught us, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” I feel like this is what the legal system has done. It is not perfect, but it can continuously improve itself if it maintains a commitment to justice. In fact, it is the responsibility of the legal system to know better and do better.

I am not banking on your empathy. I am banking on your commitment to justice. Hon. Lyle Strom was not empathetic to crack dealers when he brought to light the disparities that he saw among the sentences for crack compared to cocaine. However, his commitment to justice compelled him to do something about it.

With respect to the consequence that must be imposed on these attorneys of color constantly caught in the cross-hairs, I feel we are missing an opportunity to allow these attorneys of color to provide cultural competency training to the leaders in our legal community. And if we are really committed to justice – we will pay them for it.

When I study Oliver W. Holmes, Jr. he stresses a few points that I feel are related to the disproportionate amount of attorneys of color being disbarred in Nebraska. One of which is intent. “It has been argued that an actual intent is all that can give the act a criminal character in such instances.”

When you look at many of these attorney’s character, career, commitment to the community, family accomplishments, for decades now – it is clear to see the vast majority of them simply intended to use their gifts of intelligence, public speaking, love of the law and for fellow man to practice law in a society that wasn’t made for them.

Oliver W. Holmes, Jr. also taught me that in previous days, as in prior to when Oliver W. Holmes, Jr. was teaching at Harvard, therefore much prior to our current times, that the law was designed to punish. However, as we have evolved into an actual civilization, we now use the law to create a more equitable society.

One hundred years ago, Willie Brown was lynched. During this act of racism, Omaha’s own courthouse was set fire, and Mayor Edward Parsons Smith was hung, although he lived. This has so much to do with the problems that face Omaha today. Willie lived on the south side of town with a white woman and black man. I assume because of his disabled state, which was noted by a newspaper reporter that went to interview him prior to his death. Willie probably couldn’t live on his own.

I lived in Omaha, Nebraska, from 2009 to 2018, and I literally served thousands of people in my work in the legal field. I never ever met an interracial couple that lived on the south side of town. Yet 100 years ago it happened. After Willie’s lynching, by all accounts, redlining was strictly enforced, and segregation was encouraged.

Why is that relevant? Because for a long time, I thought that ignorance led to racist ideas, which led to discrimination. But being a fly on the wall of rooms filled with some of the most intelligent racists, I know that cannot be true. And after all of my research, I can confidently tell you that segregation leads to racist ideas which lead to discrimination. And Omaha is the most racially divided city I have ever stepped foot in, and it makes complete sense as to why it is also the most racist.

Please do not mistake my opinions for those of any Nebraska bar attorney or disbarred attorney or any other person of color. Many other people of color close to me, feel that my views in one way or another are contrary to one of their core beliefs. The belief that we are all self-accountable. Our misunderstanding comes at the point of who has lacked accountability, not just historically but actively and currently by ignoring the issue of race and their lack of understanding of it altogether. And I know that to be those in positions of power are the ones lacking self-accountability, many unwittingly but nonetheless lacking.

I understand you must look at issues like co-mingling funds and other offenses as a shame on the Nebraska bar. I completely understand that and agree these matters should be dealt with and investigated. Once looked at I am sure the bar will notice the disparities in the field that Nebraska attorneys of color are encountering. Nothing in life should be predetermined by the color of your skin. In order to fulfill a genuine commitment to justice, once discovered, these disparities should not be ignored. The bar will have a much greater shame to deal with in the near future if it continues to ignore the racial inequality.

The information I have shared with you in this letter is not new or novel. However, the newly increased dissemination of this information is. This has led to the formation of the Government Alliance for Racial Equity. Many governmental entities have joined the alliance and are working right now in creative and unprecedented ways to solve this problem from positions of power.

I hope that this letter has explained how racism is the root of the issues that embattle Nebraskan attorneys of color, although this is an advantageous goal and I worry that my attempts will have left the same impression with you that the disbarred attorney who attempted to confer the same message left on me for so many years. However, if you are at all inclined to expand your knowledge on this issue, I have a list of a few places you could start below.

Scroll down for a few books that anyone in a position of power should read.