Take the Racial Equity Challenge as Part of Black History Month

Take the Racial Equity Challenge as Part of Black History Month

2.1.2021

By Christian Nolan

As we begin the month of February, America observes Black History Month – a designation made by every U.S. president since Gerald Ford in 1976.

During this time, we acknowledge and celebrate the contributions that African Americans have made to American history and their struggles for freedom and equality, and seek to deepen our understanding of our nation’s history.

This year, in honor of Black History Month, the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion is asking everyone to take part in the 28-day Racial Equity Challenge. The challenge encourages participants to take one action every day to delve into the African American experience in America and to further their understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression and equity.

Challenges each day will include readings, podcasts, videos, observations, and ways to form and deepen community connections.

“It became abundantly clear last year – with the killings of Ahmaud Arberry, Brionna Taylor and George Floyd, among so many others – that our great nation still has a ways to go with respect to racial equity,” said Mirna M. Santiago, of Hurwitz & Fine in Melville, who chairs the committee. “To paraphrase the late great Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., America has not made good on her promise of equality and justice for all of her children.

“The Committee on Diversity and Inclusion challenges ALL members of NYSBA to spend the next 28 days learning more about the African American experience in the United States,” continued Santiago, who is the founder of Girls Rule the Law in Pawling. “We hope that by stepping into the shoes of Black Americans, if only as observers and bystanders, we can all practice empathy and finally be able to say – without reservation – that Black lives DO matter.”

Click here to participate in the Racial Equity Challenge.

Keep track and complete all 28 challenges that can be found using the navigation menu on the left of the Racial Equity Challenge web page. After completing the challenge, please submit your information using the form provided under the navigation menu item “Finished the Challege?” and you will be sent a certificate of completion.