Donna Haddad, senior legal counsel for IBM Corp. and president of the Arab American Bar Association of Illinois, delivers remarks alongside other bar group leaders condemning anti-Semitism, racism and other discrimination, this morning during a news conference at the Chicago Loop Synagogue. “I’m especially grateful to those who stand up for what is right, even if it does not impact them personally,” said Haddad, the daughter of immigrants from Jordan. “They, like all of us, recognize that all discrimination impacts us, all of us, personally. We all have to stand together to advance the rule of law and recognize the value of every individual in our great country.” — Marc Karlinsky
An alliance of bar group leaders gathered this morning to jointly condemn acts of racism, anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination in the wake of the violent protests last week in Charlottesville, Va.
At the Chicago Loop Synagogue bar leaders spoke about the important role lawyers play in upholding rule of law and equal justice.
Mitchell B. Goldberg, president of the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, said that acts of hatred have spared no region and referenced a February incident where a man shattered a window and applied swastikas to others at the Jewish congregation’s entrance on South Dearborn Street.
“That act awakened our community and its allies to the problem of a newly emboldened and especially virulent strand of anti-Semitism, Goldberg said. “Then, Just like today, people of good conscience stood together to decry hate.”
Following the rally in Virginia, Goldberg said the community can no longer comfort itself with the notion that bigots occupy space only on the political fringes.
Dartesia A. Pitts, president of the Cook County Bar Association, said her group was motivated to speak up Tuesday in response to the events of the past week, but emphasized that the problem existed long before and will remain.
“In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., ‘the time is always right to do what is right,’” Pitts said.
The attorney appeals analyst for the Cook County Board of Review said a multicultural place like Chicago has a chance to lead by example.
“As lawyers here in Chicago, we need to advocate and champion causes that provide equity for those disenfranchised due to systemic racism, specifically in the areas of criminal justice, education, housing and employment,” she said.
In his brief remarks, Cook County Associate Judge Thomas R. Mulroy said “To love America is to love our racial, gender and religious diversity.”
“We’ve heard a lot of talk about building a wall,” the Chicago Bar Association president said, pointing to the row of attorneys lined across the bimah platform in the synagogue’s sanctuary. “Here’s the wall that protects our society.”
The press conference was organized by the Decalogue Society of Lawyers, the Cook County Bar Association, The Chicago Bar Association and the Black Women Lawyers Association.
Several other bar groups joined as co-sponsors, including the Illinois State Bar Association, the Arab American Bar Association, the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois and the Muslim Bar Association of Chicago.
Erica M. Kirkwood, president of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Greater Chicago also addressed the audience.
Donna Haddad, senior legal counsel for IBM Corp. and president of the Arab American Bar, delivered the final remarks, explaining that the problem of racism needs to be confronted by everyone, not just those immediately feeling its effects.
“I’m especially grateful to those who stand up for what is right, even if it does not impact them personally,” said Haddad, the daughter of immigrants from Jordan. “They, like all of us, recognize that all discrimination impacts us, all of us, personally. We all have to stand together to advance the rule of law and recognize the value of every individual in our great country.”