Racial Justice Implications of Recent Legal Decisions

In pivotal cases in courtrooms across America, we have seen victories and movement toward a more just and equal country, while also being reminded that there is still more work to be done.  

Our legal system shows progress in the fight against racism 

On November 18th, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt granted clemency to Julius Jones hours before his scheduled execution.  Jones had spent 19 years on death row for a 1999 murder that new compelling evidence suggests he did not commit. Governor Stitt took action after years of pleading and advocacy by the public, including a petition with more than 6.5 million signatures.  Supporters argued that Jones, a Black man, was not given a fair trial and that racism played a role in his sentencing.  Research has found that a disproportionate number of death-row inmates are Black, and that Black defendants accused of killing white people are more likely to be executed.  While the governor granted clemency, Jones still faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Days later, organizers of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville were held liable for inciting violence against counter protesters in 2017.  The verdict was a clear admonishment of the defendants, a mix of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and Confederate sympathizers. 

And finally, on November 24th, three white men were found guilty of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, in what many viewed as a modern-day lynching.   Arbery was chased down and killed by the men while jogging through their neighborhood.  Arbery’s family and supporters across the nation found some solace in the jury of mostly white citizens affirming that killing an unarmed Black man was not only morally wrong, but legally wrong as well.  

The work is not finished 

Our nation was divided on November 19th when jurors found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty in his shooting of three men during racial justice protests in 2020.  Jurors determined that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense in accordance with Wisconsin law.  Those in opposition to the verdict argued that Rittenhouse, a young white man, benefited from a blatant racial double standard.  Many have argued that if Rittenhouse was Black, he would not have been released on bail, nor had a public trial to plead his innocence.  Activists also raised concerns that racial justice protestors could lawfully be deemed a threat by armed vigilantes.   

The underlying truth in these cases is that violence and injustice against people of color has gone on for far too long.  Our legal system has historically justified the killing of Black men and women, serving as an affront to the claims of justice for all.  Furthermore, men and women of color face implicit bias and systemic racism in our courtrooms, resulting in disproportionate negative outcomes in criminal legal proceedings.  Justice should not be based on the color of your skin. 

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy stands with the Black community 

The Advocacy Center’s vision is to build a just community where all people are treated fairly and have access to legal representation. The long-standing inequities of our criminal justice system have been laid bare, yet we know firsthand that our civil legal system is equally rife with injustices.  We must stand as a community to say that Black lives matter.  But so too does the quality of life to which they are afforded.   At the Advocacy Center, it is our mission to address the disproportionate impact of civil legal issues threatening our neighbors of color, improve our clients’ quality of life, ensure stability, and promote opportunity.  

The verdicts in the Charlottesville, Jones and Arbery trials may bring us closer to a world of justice for all, but we know it is just one step in a very long journey.  We continue to watch cases where Black defendants have made similar claims of self-defense. In Wisconsin, Chrystul Kizer, a young Black woman and a victim of abuse, faces criminal charges for murdering her sex trafficker when she was 17.  And in Georgia, Marc Wilson, a young Black man, faces criminal charges for killing a white female after firing defensive shots at her vehicle.  The young woman and co-passengers of her vehicle had targeted Wilson with racial epithets, threw glass bottles at his vehicle, and attempted to run Wilson off the road.  It is our hope that the outcome of these cases will demonstrate that Black defendants can and must receive the same deference and protection afforded by a self-defense argument as white defendants. For now, the fight continues and we remain hopeful that one day justice for all will not only be said, but shown.  

Recognizing Juneteenth is A Start

This week Congress overwhelmingly approved a measure that President Biden signed into law to designate Juneteenth as a federal holiday—a long overdue recognition of a critical moment in our nation’s history. 

On June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, the last group of enslaved people in the U.S. learned they were free two years after the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery had been issued.  

Today, we celebrate Juneteenth to commemorate the end of slavery and persevere as we continue on the long journey toward freedom.  

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy has chosen to observe the holiday each year by closing its offices. We will be closed on Friday, June 18, this year. We do so to give our staff time for celebration, education and connection.

We applaud Congress for this recognition, but we also demand that lawmakers prioritize racial equity with the same level of support when it comes to economic mobility, education, health care, housing, policing and voting rights. 

James Baldwin famously said, “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” 

Recognizing Juneteenth is a small step toward racial reconciliation for our country, but we cannot begin to eradicate the racist systems that rule our society without addressing our shameful past head on.

Juneteenth is that starting point. It encourages dialogue around the deferred dream of freedom that has always existed for Black people in the United States and what our nation truly values.  

Black people were not included when the phrase “justice for all” was originally championed in the vision laid out for our country. Since then, systems of power have intentionally kept Black Americans from being included.  

On Juneteenth we imagine what our country could be if we prioritized racial justice and equity to build a truly inclusive democracy that realizes the ideals our country was founded upon. 

Equal justice for all is impossible to realize without this hard, necessary work.

At Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, we fight for equal justice under the law every day for our clients, a majority of whom are people of color disproportionately impacted by poverty.  

We commit to actively dismantling these systems through our work. 

We are striving to build a more just community. And doing so requires taking a hard look at our practices and making sure that everything we do lives up to our standard of justice—one that truly ensures equity and opportunity for all. 

Thank you for supporting us in these efforts.  

Happy Juneteenth from Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy. 

Celebrate Juneteenth with us: 

Educate yourself: Spend the day learning about Juneteenth’s history, including how Black families felt after being emancipated. Watch the documentary 13th on Netflix, or engage with other movies, shows, books and podcasts about systemic racism. Check out this Anti-Racist reading list from Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy’s staff.  

Participate in local and virtual Juneteenth events:  Find an event near you with this local guide from Axios Charlotte

Juneteenth Programing at the Harvey B. Gantt Center 

Virtual Programing from the National Museum of African American History 

Reflect: While slavery ended in 1865, the racist system it built persists today. Use June 19 as a day to reflect on critical issues that perpetuate discrimination against Black people in America and throughout the world. 

Place a sign in your front yard: Raise awareness and show your support for Juneteenth by decorating a sign for your front yard or door. This is a great way to help educate younger kids in your neighborhood who may not know about the holiday. 

Celebrate with a cookout: Gather your friends and family together (safely) to celebrate freedom. 

Keep the spirit of this special day alive by continuing to fight for justice for ALL! 

Celebrating Juneteenth

On June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, the last group of enslaved people in the U.S. learned they were free two years after the Emancipation Proclamation ending slavery was issued. 

Today, Juneteenth marks this historic moment of celebration and deliverance. But 155 years later, here in 2020, there is still much work to be done for freedom.

In the face of police brutality and racism that we challenge today, Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy stands with the Black community and its allies across the country in the movement to make change.

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy has chosen to close its offices to observe Juneteenth as a small but important step toward racial reconciliation for our country. We observe this day to show support for our Black neighbors, colleagues and clients who deserve to be treated equally as human beings.

We celebrate Independence Day as a nation even though enslaved people were deliberately excluded from the ideals of freedom laid out in the Declaration of Independence.

We celebrate Juneteenth and imagine what our country could be if we prioritized racial justice and equity to build a truly inclusive democracy that realizes the ideals our country was founded upon.

Today also encourages dialogue around the deferred dream of freedom that has always existed for Black people in the United States. Though these people finally learned that slavery had ended 155 years ago, they were not truly free then, and neither are Black Americans today.

At Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, we fight for equal justice under the law every day for our clients, a majority of whom are people of color disproportionately impacted by poverty. Racial justice and equity are core to our work.

Black people were not included when the phrase “justice for all” was originally coined, yet equal justice for all is impossible to realize without eradicating the systemic racism that pervades our society.

We recognize the critical role our organization plays in building a more just community. Doing so requires taking a hard look at our practices and making sure that everything we do lives up to our standard of justice—one that truly ensures equity and opportunity for all.

Happy Juneteenth from Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy.

“[Recognizing Juneteenth] was an important, positive statement that is part of a larger demonstration of our agency to work toward racial reconciliation.”

Executive Director Kenneth Schorr in the Charlotte Observer: Amid anti-racism protests, Charlotte businesses make Juneteenth a paid holiday

Celebrate Juneteenth with us:

Educate yourself: Spend the day reading about Juneteenth’s history, including how black families felt after being emancipated. Watch the documentary 13th on Netflix, or engage with other movies, shows, books and podcasts about systemic racism.

Participate in online Juneteenth events: Tune in to the virtual Juneteenth music festival or online gala, the following contains information on local events  

Reflect: While slavery ended in 1865, systemic racism continues to this day. Use June 19 as a day to reflect on critical issues that perpetuate discrimination against black people in America and throughout the world.

Place a sign in your front yard: Raise awareness and show your support for Juneteenth by decorating a sign for your front yard or door. This is a great way to help educate younger kids in your neighborhood who may not know about the holiday.

Celebrate with a barbecue: Gather your friends and family together (safely) to celebrate freedom.

Keep the spirit of this special day alive by continuing to fight for justice for ALL!

Black Lives Matter.

George Floyd, 59. Breonna Taylor, 26. Ahmaud Arbery, 25. Eric Garner, 43. Eric Reason, 38. Atatiana Jefferson, 28. Antwon Rose II, 17. Botham Jean, 26. Sandra Bland, 28. Philando Castile, 32. Jordan Davis, 17. Trayvon Martin, 17. Tamir Rice, 12. Aiyana Stanley-Jones, 7. Emmett Till, 14. Addie Collins, 14. Denise McNair, 11. Carole Robertson, 14. Cynthia Wesley, 14. 

. . .  

Today, we lift up the names of African Americans whose lives were cut short by systemic racism and police brutality in our society, but the list does not end here.  

We mourn with the family and loved ones of these individuals and countless others who have been lost.  

Say their names.  

We applaud protesters in Charlotte and across the country who are braving a pandemic and taking to the streets to call for real and lasting change so that our national principle of “life, liberty and justice for all” rings true for all people in the United States—not just Americans of a certain skin tone. 

These murders are tragically nothing new or shocking for our neighbors, clients, colleagues and friends. Both despair and anger have festered for generations as Black people have endured intentional, targeted violence and subjugation without recourse, all while persistently fighting for their right to be valued as equal human beings.  

Now that a spotlight burns on their plight for all to see, we as Americans can no longer turn a blind eye, and the events of the past two weeks should not be a surprise given how we got here. 

The society we know today has been shaped by generations of policies that have deliberately perpetuated the notion that some lives are more valuable than others.  

We’ve seen countless instances where white people have used our white supremacist societal norms to their advantage and abused our police system to further intimidate and terrorize Black people. 

The most recent example happened in New York City’s Central Park last week, when a white woman called the police claiming she was being threatened by a Black bird watcher after he asked her to follow the park’s regulations and put her dog on a leash. This story echoes the calculated actions and tactics used to justify the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955. 

These same protections are not afforded to Black people as demonstrated when Atatiana Jefferson’s family turned to police for a wellness check on their loved one. Instead, she was murdered.  

To be clear: Black lives matter.  

Our nation was built by the hands of enslaved and exploited people, and that legacy lives on today. The wealth and power our country enjoys comes at the expense of deliberate exclusion, imprisonment, and marginalization of Black people and other people of color.  

This system enables the murders of these innocent individuals to take place. And it also actively promotes vast disparities in income, health, housing and employment that cut people of color off from socioeconomic opportunity. 

As our country burns, we must recognize that we started the fire. 

Dismantling our racist system starts with condemning police brutality head on while speaking truth to power. It is our communal responsibility to hold our public authorities accountable to ensure this need is met. We need to seek to understand and embrace the differences that enrich our community rather than use them as a means to divide.  

At Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, we believe that ALL people should have access to legal assistance and resources that ensure stability and promote opportunity. We fight for equal justice under the law every day. Racial justice and equity are inherent to this work. 

Black people were not contemplated when the phrase “justice for all” was originally coined. Equal justice for all is impossible to realize without eradicating the systemic racism that pervades our society. 

Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy condemns the police brutality we have witnessed. We stand with those exercising their right to protest in efforts to enact significant change.  

We are doing a lot of introspection. We are listening. We are trying to recognize our individual blind spots to our own ignorance. We are trying to understand, and we will continue to work toward our mission of pursuing justice, every day, with all we have. 

All of us have a role to play in building a more just community.

Will you answer the call?