Character witness. Do the Right Thing

• Author: Lindsey D.G. Dates
• Pages: 12-13

Inter Alia | CHARACTER WITNESS

CHARACTER WITNESS

Do the

Right Thing

BigLaw partner says lawyers

have an obligation to give back

to their communities

BY LINDSEY D.G. DATES

Character Witness explores legal and

societal issues through the  rst-person

lens of attorneys in the trenches who

are, inter alia, on a mission to defend

liberty and pursue justice.

I

grew up in the “Wild 100s” in

Chicago , a rough neighborhood

that has been plagued by gun

violence. I have been to too many

funerals of boys. Indeed, I keep obitu-

aries from some of the funerals I have

attended on my desk. One boy was

murdered when he was 10, another boy

was murdered when he was 8.

There is something surreal about

seeing a miniature casket sitting in the

shadow of a framed kid-size jersey, es-

pecially knowing the child in the casket

has lost his life to gun violence. There is

something unfathomable about seeing

a strong mom stand at attention as her

baby’s casket closes for the last time.

There is something unconscionable

about watching boys quietly saunter by

the casket of their murdered friend with

their heads up and shoulders squared,

barely allowing tears to escape hard-

ened tear ducts that have witnessed the

same nightmare over and over again.

The prospect of getting killed is a

real burden that children in Chicago

carry with them every single day. It was

against that backdrop of despair that I

organized a conference call a few years

ago with leaders of various community

groups that focus on mentoring boys

to see if we could come together and

create an event that might enable such

boys to experience unfettered joy, even

if just for a day. Vondale Singleton , the

proli c and charismatic founder of the

C.H.A.M.P.S.—Culturally Helping and

Making Positive Success—mentorship

program that works with boys on the

city’s South Side, participated in that

call. We instantly bonded, and togeth-

er—along with leaders of several other

mentorship programs—created a one-

of-a-kind event called Black Boy Joy.

Bringing joy

What is Black Boy Joy? It’s an annual

program that, like some sporting events,

is broken into two halves. The  rst

half consists of positive workshops on

topics designed to empower boys, help

them face the daily challenges of life

and think about their futures. These

workshops have run the gamut of top-

ics. There have been sessions on grief,

con ict resolution, social and emotional

intelligence, choosing a career, and just

about every other subject pertinent to

boys. We have even had mini-mock tri-

als at this event. In contrast, the second

half consists of fun and games designed

to put smiles on the faces of boys

who fear death and fully expect to be

lionized with makeshift teddy bear me-

morials. Such fun and games included

in atable sumo wrestling, video game

tournaments, basketball, live music,

karaoke, cotton candy and clowns.

As you might imagine, Black Boy

Joy is expensive and time-consuming.

How is it paid for? My  rm generously

covers most of the cost, including event

space rental, T-shirts, bus transportation

and entertainment. The C.H.A.M.P.S.

program then organizes the boys and

plans logistics. This event has brought

joy to hundreds of boys and reignited

their ability to dream bigger than their

environments.

Paying it forward

For lawyers, the natural question to

ask is, “What is in it for me or my law

 rm?” I am not going to pretend that

Black Boy Joy has resulted in large cli-

ents  ocking to my  rm. It hasn’t. The

return on investment is me. The return

on investment consists of boys who

look like me. The return on investment

is inspiring boys to hope in some very

challenging circumstances.

It’s hard to describe how amazing

working with C.H.A.M.P.S. and other

mentorship programs to tackle issues

surrounding gun violence has been. The

experience has been more ful lling than

the practice of law could ever be for me.

Indeed, like so many of you, practicing

law is just what I do, it isn’t who I am.

The truth is, I still feel a little uneasy

“Lawyers must once again become the

standard-bearers of our society. We can

do that through service. We can do that

by taking the roads less traveled.”

—Lindsey D.G. Dates

Photo courtesy of Lindsey D.G. Dates

ABA JOURNAL | APRIL–MAY 2020

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