July 2020
We are 6 weeks from our Annual Conference and Meeting. I hope that you will register to participate in our virtual conference, which is being facilitated through our friends at the National LGBT Bar Association. In addition to our Judicial Education Institute and Annual Meeting, we will hold two social events so that we can catch up with each other. Please note that there is NO cost to register for any of our Association’s events. For more details and to register, please visit: https://lgbtqjudges.org/2020-annual-meeting-registration/
Since the death of George Floyd, our nation has engaged in unprecedented dialogue, discussion and protest regarding the institutional and systemic racism that has existed in our society for hundreds of years. During that time, many of the highest state courts issued public statements recognizing the importance of eliminating racial injustice in our courts and acknowledging that Black Lives Matter. And yet, since the death of George Floyd, Black persons continue to have died while in police custody. Although dialogue, discussion and introspection are important, concrete actions and change must follow in order to begin to heal the wounds inflicted from the racism that has existed for centuries. Toward that end, our Association is working on creating a safe space to discuss and implement changes in court systems and rules as well as what we can change or learn about ourselves as individuals. Please stay tuned for more information; if you have suggestions on how our Association can move the ball forward, please email our Vice President Tara Flanagan at tflanagan@alameda.courts.ca.gov.
Yours in hope, peace and solidarity,
Dan Anders
Judge, Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia
daniel.anders@courts.phila.gov
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