The unjust and violent killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Freddie Gray, and countless others have forced us all to confront the systemic injustices and racial inequality that plague our nation. The protests of the past few weeks have given voice to the trauma and justified anger in Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities terrorized by centuries of violence and racism.

Just as this system of injustice and inequality took time to build, so should our commitment to dismantling it. We, the Executive Board of the Law Library Association of Maryland, declare solidarity with those individuals and organizations working towards this goal.

Words alone are not enough. We must find sustainable and constructive ways to continue to give voice to these communities. We must take meaningful and conscious action to solicit, understand, reflect, and address the needs of these communities. In the weeks and months to come, we will reach out to you, our members, to learn how we can support you. We will evaluate our mission, practices, policies, and programs for biases, both conscious and unconscious. We will educate ourselves through social justice and anti-racism programming.

We call on you, LLAM members, to join us on this ongoing journey towards keeping our nation’s most sacred promise of “liberty and justice for ALL.” We will learn and work together to identify and address the systemic injustices and racism in our community and profession.

If you would like to get involved with our self-evaluation or programming, please contact us at llamonline99@gmail.com. If you have questions or concerns, also please reach out to us.