In light of the most recent outbreak of white supremacist violence that has resulted in the death of black citizens, the Journal of Civil Rights & Economic Development has signed on to a letter of solidarity with our classmates in the Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and with all black students in our law school community who face varying degrees of systemic racism on a regular basis. We are deeply grateful for the leadership BLSA has taken during these traumatic times to prepare these statements for student organizations.
The letter can be found reprinted below:
We, the collective leadership members of the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development, in light of recent events, express solidarity with our peers and colleagues in the Black Law Students Association and the overall black law student community at St. John's School of Law.
The issue of race and policing, and the overall societal affliction of systemic racism persists. As a journal dedicated to the promotion of civil rights, we acknowledge and affirm that the disproportionate, unnecessary, irresponsible, and excessive use of force and violence towards black and brown people by police authorities is inexcusable, intolerable, and should not go without legal reprieve.
We demand justice for all affected families.
We recognize the toll that the countless repetitions of this unlawful behavior and these tragedies takes on our black and brown colleagues. To them, we wish to say, we love you, we value you, we respect you, and we support you.
We understand that our classmates may need time to process these events and care for themselves. We respect their space. However, when and if BLSA sees fit to take action or mount a response we are prepared to engage with them and follow their leadership. We in JCRED believe that the student organizations at St. John's Law should be in support of each other, in support of all pursuits of social justice, and in support of the pursuit of the overall progress of the legal field and all things law related. Today, we take a step to stand in that support.
Sincerely,
JCRED