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The Bridge
PLDIC News and Resources
September 9, 2020

Moving Pittsburgh's Legal Community Forward, Together
Calling Coalition Members to Respond to teQuitable CEO’s Challenge to Step Forward in Leadership
Four Steps Urged Embodied in TACOI
On the eve of the launch of the Coalition’s 10-month series of programs, Towards a Culture of Inclusion (TACOI), and after a summer of racial reckoning, the CEO of tEQuitable issues this challenge:
“Companies, the lifeblood of our economy, must step forward not just in solidarity, but more importantly in leadership.”
Each of the four concrete steps she urges organizations to take to respond to these times are embodied in TACOI. See especially her reminder that “ally is a verb."
Interested in Becoming a Diversity Ally?
Learn more about Towards a Culture of Inclusion and the requirements to be certified Ally-Ready by the PLDIC. Those interested in signing up for Ally Training can do so below. The deadline to sign up for this training is September 30.
Last Call for Registration for September 15 Programs
Registration is still open for the first two programs in Towards a Culture of Inclusion, both presented by Ritu Bhasin, a dynamic diversity, equity and inclusion global leader. Sign up now for one or both of these virtual interactive sessions to be held September 15:

Session #1:
  • PLDIC Leaders Webinar — As an Ally, How Can You Interrupt Racial Bias in the Workplace? - 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Ritu will explain how racial bias lives in the bodies and minds of all of us and offer specific behaviors our leaders can employ to be more racially inclusive in how they live, work and lead.
Session #2:
  • PLDIC Lawyers of Color Webinar — The Internalization of Racial Bias: What Happens in the Workplace - 1-3 p.m.
Ritu will explore the neuroscience of how racial bias and trauma are linked and outline practical strategies to allow our diverse lawyers to thrive both personally and professionally. In order to create a safe space for sharing experiences, we request that only lawyers who self-identify as Black, Indigenous or a Person of Color attend this webinar.
For those of you who have signed up for our Ally-Ready certification program, both of these sessions are considered TRAININGS.
PLDIC members can hear Robin DiAngelo discuss her bestselling book, White Fragility; Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Race with Valerie Kinloch, Dean of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education on September 10 (or anytime after).
For Ally-Ready trainees, this program is considered an OUTSIDE OPPORTUNITY.
Coalition Sets Date for First of Three Conversations on Race
October 14 from 8:30-10 a.m.
Conversation on Race #1
The diverse lawyers we seek to attract to Pittsburgh and to retain here not only need a welcoming and supportive work environment, but also a welcoming and supportive environment in which to live. In short, they need to find a home. And a community and all the things that go along with that. If they grew up here, they know what they will find. If they are moving here, they can discover everything they need to know on the internet. Much of what they will find about Pittsburgh is negative. There’s no sense in acting like we don’t see what’s wrong. We have to look it in the eye, be prepared to understand its impact on our colleagues and friends, and think about what we can do about it. 

On October 14 from 8:30-10 a.m., the Coalition will hold the first of three Conversations on Race, this one examining race in Pittsburgh. We will present:
  • Anupama jain, Executive Director of the city’s Gender Equality Commission, which earlier this year, released the Report on Gender and Racial Inequality in Pittsburgh; and
  • Junia Howell, an assistant professor in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Sociology and the lead author of the Report.
 
They will be joined by a panel of individuals who will discuss their own experiences of race in Pittsburgh and Coalition members will be guided in a discussion among themselves about what they have heard.

Registration info coming soon.
For Ally-Ready trainees, this is a CONVERSATION ON RACE.
What is My Role?
Executives Discuss How to Propel Social Justice Conversation

This Pittsburgh Business Times article includes Coalition ED Susan Yohe. Also quoted are top officers of Coalition members Highmark Health and PNC Financial Services discussing what businesses can do to move the social justice conversation forward.

Read more
www.bizjournals.com
Upcoming Other Events
Webinar CLE - Race and College Admissions
Upcoming CLE alert: The Allegheny County Bar Association will host a live webinar, CLE - Race and College Admissions, on September 22 from 12-2 p.m. It will explore recent litigation regarding affirmative action in college admissions, especially the case Students for Fair Admissions, Inc., v. Harvard College, in which the plaintiff accused Harvard of discriminating against Asian-American applicants.
2020 PBA Virtual Diversity Summit
The Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) Minority Bar Committee invites you to save the date for their Virtual Diversity Summit on October 7. This timely program, developed with the collaboration of the Montgomery Bar Association, is intended for all attorneys and bar leaders as our profession examines its role in the greater movement for equality.
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