IN THIS ISSUE

Front Page

Letter from the President

Notes on the Right: The Real “Unmentionable Secret”

Poll Shows Californians Think Race Discrimination Still a Problem

Unique Collaboration with Teachers’ Union Addresses Unconscious Bias in the Classroom

Dismantling the Intent Doctrine: an International View

Inequality in the Gene Age

Two New Books Focus on Rights Won and Lost

EJS Welcomes New Members; Motley Fellowship Launch

Staff/Board News & Notes

Newsletter Editors:
Elaine Elinson
Miguel Gavaldon

Email Feedback

 From Eva Paterson

Letter from the President

The Equal Justice Society was conceived to help make the world a better place. That may sound corny, but at our essence, that is who we are and what we are about. The piece of the world we have staked out to transform is that place where law, justice and equality intersect.

You have heard us say that we want to put race back on the national agenda. We need to debunk those like Ward Connerly whose euphemistic terms like racial colorblindness try to blind us to racism. The lessons we learned in the successful campaign that defeated Connerly's Proposition 54 three years ago have allowed us to offer useful advice to those in Michigan who are fighting another one of his regressive initiatives..

As we venture out onto the national stage, we find that our analysis of the current reality is one shared by others. As you will see in the article by Kimberly Thomas Rapp and David Salniker, our joint project with the California Teachers Association on unconscious bias in the classroom has had an impact on teachers and students in the Davis Unified School District, and has won the support of the national teachers union. The article by our summer law intern Marianne Naveran on how other countries look at the intent doctrine in discrimination cases gives us both ammunition and hope that we can overturn Washington v Davis. Our analysis of the harm brought on our state as a result of the passage and implementation of Prop 209 has led us to work with our colleagues from around the state on how to make equal opportunity a reality and not an empty platitude trotted out by politicians on the birthdays of Dr. King and Cesar Chavez.

The successful No on 54 campaign, along with these other important efforts has taught us that progressives must be more sophisticated and strategic about how we talk about race. That framework, along with our strategy of connecting scholarship, media, and legal advocacy, is shared by our sister organizations and colleagues across the country.

This summer, EJS will be part of many strategic meetings where the key issues of race and social justice will be developed by civil rights activists, lawyers, scholars and grassroots organizers. I recently returned from the Rainbow/PUSH convention in Chicago where I spoke on a panel with Reverend Jesse Jackson, Reverend Al Sharpton and Bruce Gordon, President of the NAACP. Our support for full public financing of elections was met with great interest and enthusiasm. In turn, we have reached out to have a dialogue with the NAACP about long-term alliance building.

In the next few weeks, EJS staff members and I will be attending the NAACP national convention and lawyers meeting in Washington, D.C., the Just the Beginning Foundation Conference with Black federal judges in Cincinnati, the National Bar Association convention in Detroit and a Structural Racism Convening with john powell of the Kirwan Institute. In addition, we have been invited to make a presentation on our unconscious bias project to the National Education Association in Washington.

Our refusal to give up on using the law to transform society is mirrored by the efforts of other civil rights lawyers. We saw the United States Supreme Court issue a breathtaking opinion on the death penalty and lethal injection. Despite the odds, decisions such as that one make us realize that we cannot give up on our legal efforts to dismantle the intent doctrine.

Six years ago, we hatched an idea in the living room of Stephanie Wildman that has now turned into a reality. Sure, sometimes reading the news makes you just want to lie down and cry. But after we dry our tears we look around and see that there are others like us, sad but resolute in our determination to make things better. As always, we welcome your participation and encourage you to join EJS. Our organization has come a long way, and your efforts and support will help EJS meet the great challenges we face.

EJS will continue connecting with individuals and organizations working to realize a gloriously vibrant and healing progressive vision. Si se puede! I guess I can still say that. It's not an English only country…yet.