Kansas Bar Association Diversity Committee's Response to Racial Injustice
| Publication year | 2021 |
| Pages | 42 |
Response to racial injustice
By Merideth J. Hogan & Diana Stanley
In February 2021, the Kansas Bar Association Diversity Committee proposed six initiatives to the Board of Governors. These initiatives are the collective work of many legal practitioners in our state and focus on remedying racial injustice. Happily, the Board of Governors approved the initiatives with high support. This article serves as an update to the bar regarding the Diversity Committee's initiatives and future plans.
As a preface, Section I discusses the history of the Diversity Committee and its 2020 Vision. Section II explains the impetus behind the current initiatives, takes a historical look at the relationship between race and the Kansas Bar, and briefly discusses the role of lawyers in advancing justice. Finally, Section III gives an overview of each proposed initiative and highlights provisions of particular importance to practicing attorneys.
Prior Diversity Committee Actions
The Kansas Bar Association (KBA) has several committees to assist like-minded KBA members in pursuing their interests. One such group, the Diversity Committee, "helps the KBA foster an inclusive, diverse bar association, promote understanding and respect for different points of view, and support the advancement of diversity within the Kansas legal profession and justice system."[1]
In 1999, then-KBA President Zack Reynolds published an article in the Journal of the Kansas Bar Association announcing his "2020 Vision."[2] He had recently attended the KBA Annual Meeting and noticed that almost all of the attendees were white. At the time, only two to three percent of Kansas attorneys identified themselves as minorities even though approximately 10 percent of Kansas's population identified as minorities. "Shame on us?" he asked. "Yes, at least if we don't do something about it."[3]
Reynolds recalled hearing about an ad hoc KBA committee report that determined that the lack of diversity within the bar was a problem. But he could not identify any actions taken to address the disparity. The general sense was that the bar thought there was no diversity because the law schools were not recruiting enough diverse students; the law schools felt the local undergraduate institutions were not providing diverse pools of applicants; and the undergraduate institutions felt the state population could not provide the desired flow of students.[4]
As the KBA's new president, Reynolds intended to implement change. He started by creating a new ad hoc committee to recommend actions to the Board of Governors. The 10 original ad hoc committee members were passionate and diverse, making them highly sought-after by other organizations. Despite their busy calendars, the members met in March 2000 and ultimately instituted a Student Legal Internship Program (SLIP). SLIP was modeled after the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association internship program but differentiated itself by focusing on providing legal internship opportunities specifically for high school students of color. Within one month of the March 2000 meeting, the ad hoc committee had five high school students enrolled in its program, which placed them in Kansas law firms and paid $10.00 per hour. In February 2003, after further rumination on how to improve diversity within the bar, the now officially designated Diversity Committee met again and discussed more ideas - creating high school job fairs, participating in the KU Diversity in the Law Banquet, conducting outreach to rural communities, founding a leadership academy for BIPOC[5] attorneys, and compiling a list of diverse attorneys in Kansas.
By taking these steps, Reynolds hoped an attendee at the 2020 annual meeting would be able to look out at the crowd and see a bar more reflective of Kansas's demographics.[6] He hoped the KBA would be able to reach rural students, urban students, and students who spoke different languages:
The vision includes, for example, a Native American woman (now in kindergarten in Horton) graduating from law school; a Vietnamese woman (now in fifth
"...the Diversity Committee, "helps the KBA foster an inclusive, diverse bar association, promote understanding and respect for different points of view, and support the advancement of diversity within the Kansas legal profession and justice system.
grade in Garden City) practicing law; a Hispanic man (now in middle school in Wichita) on the bench; and an African American man (now in high school in Coffeyville) teaching at law school.[7]
In 2010, then-KBA President Timothy O'Brien applauded several steps taken by the KBA toward achieving the 2020 Diversity Vision. These included funding diversity scholarships in the early 2000s, starting a regular diversity column in the bar journal, and providing a Diversity CLE at annual meetings.[8] Today, the Diversity Committee holds a specially designated seat on the Board of Governors, supports the annual KU Diversity in Law Banquet, provides funding for diversity-related programming at the KU and Washburn Schools of Law, and welcomes students to participate in the Diversity Committee as members.
I. Creation of the Diversity Committee's Proposal: A Response to Systemic Racism in the Justice System
Before discussing the Diversity Committee's initiatives, it is necessary to take a step back and ask: (1) why is the Diversity Committee acting now, and (2) why do Kansas lawyers need to be involved in discussions about racial justice?
To answer those questions, consider the historical relationship between law and race in Kansas. Our state has a rich history of promoting diversity and advancing racial justice, whether it be the courageous men who served in the first Black volunteer regiment in the Civil War or communities such as Nicodemus, "at one time the largest ... all-Black settlement west of the Mississippi River."[9] "Almost from its birth, "˜Kansas' has been synonymous in the national mind with abolitionism."[10]
Kansas attorneys also played a role in advancing racial justice. During the Civil War, lawyer James Lane led the Jayhawk Militia and helped draft the anti-slavery Topeka Constitution.[11] Lane was so influential that the early residents of Dighton, Kansas, adopted him as their county's namesake.[12] A few years later, Kansas welcomed its first Black lawyer, Lutie Lytle, who went on to become the first Black female law professor in the United States.[13] In the 1920s, lawyers at the Kansas Attorney General's Office ousted the KKK from the state, using innocuous business registration laws as their weapon.[14] Finally, Kansas was the site of Brown v. Board of Education .[15] While much has been written on Brown, a less-appreciated fact is that the litigation was initiated and spearheaded by three Topeka lawyers - Charles Scott, John Scott, and Charles Bledsoe-as the case made its way to the United States Supreme Court.[16]
But to focus only on victories and halcyon days misses a broader discussion. Yes, Kansas was a free state, but many white Kansans opposed slavery because they did not want any people of color to live here.[17] Kansas was the site of Brown, but in its ugly aftermath, many Black Kansans who championed the litigation faced intense retaliation.[18] The local Topeka school district fired Black teachers with the official reasoning that the "community would not want [Black] teachers for white children."[19] And in the long run, Kansas school districts have continued to struggle to desegregate schools. For example, the federal Office of Health, Education, and Welfare deemed Wichita elementary schools segregated until the 1970s.[20]
As a Union state, Kansas has largely escaped debates over Confederate monuments. We can proudly point to names such as Lane County as evidence of our abolitionist past. But we have other, more insidious memorials. Take for example the recently renamed "Noose Road" (now Rome Road) in Hays, named for the lynching of three Black soldiers in 1869.[21] The street name was not a holdover from a "different time" - it was renamed to Noose Road in 1989.[22]
Lawyers play a role causing and perpetuating racial inequality. As the George Floyd protests highlighted, there are deep issues running through our criminal justice system. But the civil justice system also bears responsibility. Take a moment to consider...
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