Join Carla D. Barboza, Principal of her own law firm, Barboza & Associates, Los Angeles, California and former Senior Trial Attorney for Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. "As a long-standing member of the ABA, I whole-heartedly support the effort by the Commission on Opportunities for Minorities in the Profession to promote membership among people of color. My reasons are simple. Visibility promotes opportunity for people of color. Last spring I was a presenter at an ABA sponsored event in Los Angeles, California. After my presentation, a young Latina woman in her third year of law school approached me to discuss her desire to become an employment law practitioner like myself. I cannot begin to count the times that my presence has offered some measure of comfort and inspiration for other people of color within the legal profession who seek the opportunities offered by bar associations which have historically been white-dominated. As affirmative action programs are systemically dismantled, the number of people of color who will become practicing lawyers is negligible. This is no time for us to hide in the shadows. As prominent members of the ABA, people of color can offer those few who follow in our footsteps an open door to the opportunities once denied us. Find out more about joining