OUR PURPOSE
“We need to bring meaning and weight to the term ‘justice for all’ and we need to give people hope.”
~ Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez
The purpose of the Racial Justice Consortium is to maximize opportunities for collaboration and mutual support of judicial branch entities in exploring:
Education of our workforce on racism, the causes of racism, and how it shows up in the courts and legal system;
A comprehensive review of specific areas of our Court system that contribute to racial disparities, system racial injustice and perpetuate harm; and
Meaningful reform of policies and practices that can be measured and tracked for accountability and progress.
The Consortium is meeting over the course of one year, on the last Friday of every month, to develop specific plans that will result in structural change within the various judicial entities relying upon the principles and objectives outlined in the Supreme Court’s letter on racial justice.
“The whole system of justice was being questioned. . . . Our thought was to provide a space for those of us in the judicial branch to look at ourselves; to look inward and find ways to transform ourselves, our practices, and our policies.”
~ Justice Mary Yu
“Consortium members have the unique opportunity to define their collective racial justice vision, co-create guiding principles and develop an achievable action plan -- every step intended to advance racial justice.”
~ Racial Justice Practitioner Patricia Lally
Photographs courtesy of: Ian Schneider, Gayatri Malhotra, Ian Nguyen, and Manikandan Annamalai of Unsplash.