Juneteenth and Beyond

In recent years, there has been an undeniably overdue national and even global call for change in how the issues of racial injustice, bias, and privilege are addressed. Important, difficult conversations are happening, and the time is now for all of us to change the way our society perceives and treats people of color. Change cannot be limited to just the way we think about these issues; meaningful change will only come through our actions.

Tragedies involving the loss of Black Americans must not pass without affirmative steps in pursuit of real change. As a firm devoted to diversity, inclusion, and justice, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families, and we renew our commitment to create meaningful change within our profession and communities. We will maintain our charitable contributions, scholarship opportunities, and other causes that support progress. We will continue to educate our attorneys and staff on issues like implicit bias, inclusivity, and microaggression, and we will take that knowledge back to our own communities to do what we do best, advocate for change. We will actively work toward creating the America we all deserve, one in which all people are treated equally and our citizens of color are valued and protected.

It is said that no one is free until we are all free. Today, we join in the celebration of Juneteenth, which is the commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States more than two years after Lincoln’s famous proclamation. Then, as much as now, words are only as valuable as the actions that support them.

Foster Swift is committed to taking action to serve and support the historically disenfranchised to balance the scales of justice and swing the pendulum toward real, meaningful change.

This statement was authored by Foster Swift's Diversity Committee with the support of the firm's Executive Committee.