Dear Thine Community,
We are reeling, heartbroken, and angered by ongoing, tragic acts of racial violence and injustice. We’d like to take some time to share a few thoughts with you.
First, we say this unequivocally: Black lives matter. We stand with and support all those fighting against and outraged by the unjust, brutal killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, David McAtee, and so many countless other Black people in this country. We offer the sincerest condolences to their families, loved ones, and their communities. Each and every one of their lives continues to matter, and each deserves justice. We witness, trust, and recognize that enduring the multiple burdens of racial injustice, violence, inequity, and prejudice each day as a Black person in America, is exhausting and an ongoing source of trauma.
We protest for—and with—Black lives, who continue to face the dangers of racial injustice and discrimination. We acknowledge that these events haven’t occurred in isolation, but persist, in large part, due to the deep-rooted history of racial violence and injustice in America. And while the world experiences the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, we seek to amplify the reality that this too is disproportionately ravaging Black communities.
It is said that in America, our freedoms and rights are protected and upheld by our laws, but many of our experiences tell us otherwise. And within the legal community, we know that women and Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), as a whole, leave law firms at higher rates than white men, despite being considerably more represented in summer associate and law student classes. In 2019, less than 5% of all associates were Black, and all BIPOC women made up just 3% of law firm partners.
In the words of James Baldwin, “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” While words matter, they are only words without intentional action. We appreciate that required “action” goes beyond one letter or a mission statement: Thine is committed to helping create real, meaningful change—and we implore fellow members of the legal community to do the same.
At this moment, it is our job to listen first, as well as to lift up Black voices and stories. We promise that we are taking the time to do so in a genuine, thoughtful, and meaningful way.
As a company practice, we are more committed than ever to seek ways to tangibly leverage our work to create better access, less bias, and a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse legal profession.
We also commit to facilitating dialogue for our clients and audiences as we dismantle practices and systems that create racial barriers and allow bias and inequity to continue. In the coming weeks, we will be sharing more about how we will be working with partners and many of you to achieve this.
Right now, we’re funding National Bail Out Fund (#FreeBlackMamas), ending systems of mass incarceration and pre-trial detention, which disproportionately lead to the incarceration of Black communities and The Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program (DAPP Direct), committed to promoting the advancement of BIPOC women in the legal profession.
In the meantime, we invite others to join us. We’ve started compiling a list of resources to help our own team and members of our community to begin thinking about being better allies, colleagues, and warriors for racial justice. If you have suggestions, comments, or stories to share with us or ideas on ways we can partner with others, please contact us at hello@thine.co.
Yours,
