The Bridge
PLDIC News and Resources
April 21, 2021

Moving Pittsburgh's Legal Community Forward, Together
Know Thyself, Know Others: Discover the Power of Deep Connections to Create Engaging Work Environments
Same Program Offered May 18 and May 20 to Allow for Robust Participation
The COVID pandemic has physically separated us from each other for over a year now. The killing of Black men and women and the rise in anti-Asian hate crime and harassment forces us to confront the wide gaps in our experiences of our supposed united society. The 2020 election revealed profound differences in how we see the world. Amidst all this, we struggle to create connections in our workplaces in order to increase a sense of belonging and inclusion.
 
This innovative program invites participants to begin to uncover the power of human connection through the lens of self-awareness and reflection. Participant-driven, the program includes a pre-training questionnaire, the 90-minute session on either May 18 or 20, and a post-training evaluation.
For participants in the Ally-Ready training program, this session is considered a TRAINING.
Final Program in TACOI Series Set for June 23
Third Conversation on Race: Where Do We Go From Here?
The final program in the Coalition’s Towards a Culture of Inclusion series is our Third Conversation on Race, entitled Where Do We Go From Here? The program on June 23 from 12-1:30 p.m. will put in context everything we have done since kicking off the series last September and point us in the direction of next steps. Participants in our Ally-Ready Training Program will help guide the program, along with the Visions team who have been working with our ally trainees over the course of the series. Save the date by registering below!
For participants in the Ally-Ready training program, this session is considered a CONVERSATION ON RACE.
Over 60 People Hear Kenji Yoshino on Covering
Related Resources Available on Coalition Website
Over 60 people from 25 different organizations heard NYU law professor Kenji Yoshino discuss covering as part of the Coalition’s Towards a Culture of Inclusion series on April 6. Yoshino told his audience that allies are the best tool for lifting the oppression caused by either a perceived or actual demand to cover at work. More resources on the topic of covering are available on the Coalition’s website. 
Anti-Asian American Harassment and Hate Crimes Continue
Be an Ally Against All Kinds of Harassment: Sign Up For Bystander Intervention Training
Since last month’s issue of The Bridge, which included the headline, “Coalition Joins in Condemning Recent Attacks on Asian Americans,” six Asian American women were shot dead in Atlanta and an elderly Asian American woman was brutally attacked on a New York City sidewalk. And that certainly isn’t all the instances of anti-Asian American hate crimes and harassment that have occurred in the last month. Clearly, this is a problem that is not going away, just as attacks directed at other marginalized groups are not going away, either. What can you do? Be an ally. Sign up below for a free, one-hour bystander intervention training to stop anti-Asian American harassment and xenophobia. The training will be offered on several dates in May by Hollaback, an organization whose mission is to end harassment in all its forms. You can also sign up to receive five daily emails providing you with the “Five D’s of Bystander Intervention.”
Four Coalition Members Join Alliance for Asian American Justice
Pro Bono Legal Assistance Provided to Victims of Anti-Asian Hate
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, Jones Day, Morgan Lewis, and Reed Smith are among more than 60 law firms and general counsel from Fortune 1000 companies who have marshaled their pro bono programs to provide Asian Americans with legal support in the wake of the surge in reported hate crimes. Founded just last week, more than 10 cases have already been referred to Alliance members. 
And for our Asian American Colleagues...
Therapists Who Work With Asian American Communities Share Their Best Self-Care Advice For These Stressful Times. 
The online reporting forum Stop AAPI Hate said that since its inception on March 18, it has received more than 650 direct reports of discrimination primarily targeting Asian Americans. Whether you’ve been subjected to discrimination or not, simply hearing about the widespread xenophobia can affect your mental health.
May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Watch for Coalition Profiles of Our Asian/Pacific American Lawyers Throughout May
May was chosen to commemorate the contributions and influence of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans to the history, culture, and achievements of the U.S. because the first Japanese immigrated to the U.S. on May 7, 1843, and on May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed. The majority of the workers who laid the tracks were Chinese immigrants. You can learn more from the site below, hosted by the Library of Congress on behalf of other government institutions. 
Almost Two-Thirds of AmLaw 100 Leaders Sign On to Statement Denouncing Law Making Voting More Difficult
Heads of Three Coalition Members Join In
The leaders of Cozen O’Connor, McGuire Woods, and Morgan Lewis & Bockius have joined the heads of 59 other AmLaw 100 firms and 19 current and former general counsel signing on to this statement: 
“Equal access to voting is a fundamental right in the United States. Making voting easier, not harder, for all eligible voters should be the goal of every elected official. Election laws that impose unnecessary obstacles and barriers on the right to vote and that disenfranchise underrepresented groups represent a significant step backwards for all Americans. Now, more than ever, courageous leadership is required from our elected officials. We, the undersigned law firm managing partners and corporate general counsel, denounce all efforts to restrict the constitutional right of every eligible American to vote and to participate in our democracy.”
PLDIC Featured in Law360 Article
Pittsburgh Coalition Takes Systemic Approach To Diversity
Law360's Emma Cueto recently highlighted the work of the Coalition in the article linked below, entitled "Pittsburgh Coalition Takes Systemic Approach To Diversity." The piece features Coalition ED Susan Yohe and Partner at K&L Gates / PLDIC Board Vice Chair Eric Cottle.
Coalition Speaker Junia Howell leaves Pitt to join Ibram X. Kendi at Antiracism Center in Boston
Former University of Pittsburgh Assistant Professor Junia Howell led the Coalition’s First Conversation on Race: Race in Our Community last October. Howell is the lead author of the 2019 Report on Pittsburghs Inequality Across Gender and Race. Howell has now decamped to Boston to work alongside Ibram X. Kendi, renowned author of How to Be an Antiracist, and director of Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research. Howell will be directing the Center’s offices of policy and research. 
Continue Conversation on Race in Our Community with Tim Stevens
Local Activist to Discuss “Lost Lessons & Future Possibilities” at 7 p.m. Tomorrow
Stevens is the former Executive Director of the Pittsburgh branch of the NAACP and the founder of the Black Political Empowerment Project and the facilitator of the Corporate Equity & Inclusion Roundtable.
The Bridge
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