As part of our commitment to the promotion of diversity in the legal profession, Wong Fleming fully supports Black Lives Matter (BLM), a decentralized civil rights movement in the United States, with chapters across the globe, and which advocates for non-violent civil disobedience in protest against state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. The movement started in July 2013 following the acquittal of George Zimmerman after he shot and killed Trayvon Martin in Florida, an unarmed black teenager who was returning from a store after purchasing sweets and iced tea. BLM seeks to eliminate police brutality, violence against Black communities, and white supremacy.

Systemic oppression, racism, and bias against our Black brothers and sisters are pervasive and too often result in tragic violence and injustice for the Black community. It is important that we speak openly about these issues plaguing our nation.  We, as lawyers, have an even greater obligation to support BLM and oppose racism.  Our profession has seen the worst, when the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision said Blacks were not American citizens, and the best, when the Supreme Court unanimously ended segregation in Brown v. Board of Education.  We must remain vigilant because our legal system will always have the potential to mete out justice and injustice at the same time.

Wong Fleming has as one of its fundamental values the promotion of diversity because we believe that persons of differing backgrounds and cultures provide us all with a richness of understanding and respect from distinct perspectives. We support the peaceful and productive expressions of protest over racial injustice that has evolved because of the pain from a history of inequality. We also condemn the racist attacks that have taken place over the past several months, and for the countless number of other attacks that occurred before that did not receive the swift and immediate attention and justice they deserved.  Justifiable anger has erupted across the country over the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, because it underscores the obvious systemic racism that exists in police departments everywhere.  This is not an isolated incident. Racism is pervasive in this country, and we recognize that it is not enough to state our support if those words are not backed by actions to create a more diverse world in which significant equity and antiracist progress have been made.

Going forward, we will maintain specific and measurable goals that are rooted in active listening, learning, and acting. We will be taking affirmative measures to support Black-owned businesses by making donations and supporting them as our vendors. We will explore ways to effect long-lasting change such as through providing educational video seminars that speak out on racism in the workplace. We will redouble our efforts to use Black-owned law firms for the local counsel needs of our litigation matters.  We will seek out new relationships with Black-owned businesses in our area for purchases of marketing materials, catering for company-sponsored lunches and events, and other services wherever possible. We will continue to support our firm’s mission to promote the hiring, retention, and promotion of women and minority attorneys in the legal profession, with an increased focus on the National Bar Association, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and local Black bar associations and chapters. We are fully committed to sustained engagement in helping end racial and economic inequity in our city, our community, and our industry.