March 2 is Diversity Day for the ABA Law Student Division. The Division encourages law students and law schools to hold Diversity Day events and programs that promote the appreciation of different races, genders, religions, classes, sexual orientations, and disabilities and throughout the month of March.
“Diversity in the legal profession continues to decline,” says LaTara Johnson, a third-year student at Samford University Cumberland School of Law, who chairs the Diversity Committee of the Law Student Division Board of Governors. “If we can directly impact that by helping students, professors, and minority students in the community understand that law is a viable option, that helps.”
“There are so many different things you can do for Diversity Day,” says Johnson, who is governor of the Division’s Fifth Circuit, which serves law schools in the Southeast and in Puerto Rico. “The Division’s online toolkit gives good examples of things other schools have done. It’s a great source of practical and innovative ideas.”
“Diversity means more than just including racial or ethnic minorities,” says Johnson. “Everyone is diverse in some form. Until we as law students are willing to engage ourselves in discussions and programs that encompass all aspects of diversity, the legal profession won’t truly reflect the society we live in.”
The toolkit, which is designed to assist law students and schools as they plan for Diversity Day events, is available at www. abanet.org/lsd/diversity/toolkit/ chapters.html. The toolkit includes information on getting started, tips for successful events, statistics, and other
resources related to diversity.
See what’s going on at your school to celebrate diversity this year. And get started now on planning next year’s Diversity Day events at your school.
