austinbar.org JULY/AUGUST 2020 | VOLUME 29, NUMBER 6
Statement from the Austin Bar Association June 3, 2020 A s we are enduring a pandemic that exposes inequity, we are witnessing racism’s poisonous persistence in and beyond our community. When we look back on these times, we will either lament our inaction or assess the work we did to acknowledge, confront, and combat injustice— including racial injustice. The Austin Bar Association unequivocally condemns racism in all forms. Consistent with our mission, we are committed to enhancing our community through concerted efforts to create a new normal, in which we eliminate injustice and relate as equals across our human differences. In the words of Austin Bar Past-President Rev. Joseph C. Parker, Jr.,
“The reason there are visible and vocal protests is that we still have hope. We are protesting because we believe that something can be done.” It is in this spirit of hope that the Austin Bar pledges to lead our legal community in the pursuit of justice for all people. D. Todd Smith
Kennon Wooten
Austin Bar Association President
Austin Bar Association President-Elect
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? BY KENNON WOOTEN
In a moment of time like this one, the Austin Bar Association is called upon to stand up, be a good neighbor, and help our community heal by doing our part to increase access to justice and stamp out injustice.
W
hat if we reimagined our relationship with one another, and—with eyes wide open about where we’ve been and where we are as a society—we began to see and treat one another as
neighbors? Would we be kinder to each other? Would we be more giving and less judgmental? Would we realize that all of our lives, actions, and reactions are interrelated? I’d like to think so. This neighbor concept is not novel. I heard about it as a kid, while watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. I heard about it again recently while listening to a discussion between Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates—the author of Between the World and Me. Among other things, they talked about Patrick Skinner, a police officer who does his job with a
“neighbor mindset,” believing “we all matter or none of us do” and treating everyone he encounters accordingly. The neighbor mindset is similar to a sentiment Dr. Maya Angelou referenced years ago when talking about what she continued on page 6
