By Kyra Jenkins, California Advocate.
The San Joaquin College of Law (SJCL) and the Hugh Goodwin Bar Association are working to address an unavoidable truth; African Americans are underrepresented when it comes to practicing law.
University of Virginia Law Professor, Alex Johnson, published a recent report detailing how misapplication and low test scores is to blame for the minute number of African Americans in the legal field.
But Mark Cullers, the president of the Fresno branch of the Hugh Goodwin Bar Association, doesn’t believe the amount of African American attorneys has to do with their testing scores or applying to colleges out of their league; he believes aspiring attorneys need actual mentors who offer hope, knowledge and resources.
That’s why the Hugh Goodwin Bar Association is journeying back to before students enter college, even before high school. They’re reaching out to young students before the seeds of an aspiring career have been planted and cultivated to become the desire of their hearts. That’s why they held career day at Roosevelt High School last spring; to inspire minority students to enter the field. Attorney Alexia Kirkland, who is also the treasurer of the Hugh Goodwin Bar Association, believes that encouraging young students can change their perspective and increase the amount of African Americans lawyers.
“What you have at the law school level are people who have already decided that they want a legal career, then it’s almost too late to reach that influx, that new generation…What we want to do is target [students in] high schools, and elementary. They need that ability to see someone who looks like someone they can relate to in order to envision that as a possibility for them,” said Kirkland.
Although African Americans represent 13 percent of the population in the nation, 3.9 percent of attorneys are African American, according to a report published by Harvard Law.
Brittany Hines, who is in her second year at the San Joaquin College of Law, wishes she saw at least that relatively small amount represented on her college campus.
“I don’t think Fresno and the Valley have a very large African American population. When I’m walking down the hallways, of course I would love to see more people who look like me,” said Hines.
She choose to attend SJCL because it’s closer to home, more affordable than other law schools in the state and their students have a high success rate for passing the bar exam.
Hinds, who represents a double minority as an African American and a woman, is one of five African American law school students on her campus. She isn’t the only one who has questioned why there’s such a low amount of her peers vying for the prestigious position.
“I don’t think a lot of minorities are exposed to law…I think most people when think of a lawyer they think of a defense lawyer when they get in trouble…they think of the kind of lawyer who gets you money when you’re hurt in an accident,” Cullers continued. “Most kids in school don’t understand that law is for everyone in society and every place in society needs a lawyer.”
The Hugh Goodwin Bar Association is an affiliate of the California Association of Black Lawyers. The local branch is comprised of 20 lawyers and judges from all over the Valley but predominantly from within Fresno County.
Cullers is not only president of the Hugh Goodwin Bar Association, he’s also the Chief Assistant US Attorney of the Fresno Office in the Eastern District of California. He prosecutes federal cases, speaks to middle school, high school, college and law school students while promoting the Hugh Goodwin Bar Association. He also enjoys the privilege of meeting the Chief of State and the first lady during their visits to the Golden State.
“A lot of African American children are not exposed to seeing lawyers in person and talking to them and finding out what their life is like,” said Cullers.
Courtrooms have long since provided the legal grounds for arguing issues of freedom and disenfranchisement since the emancipation of African Americans. Landmark cases such as Brown v. the Board of Education put an end to separate but equal and Loving v. Virginia ruled that prohibiting interracial marriage was unconstitutional.
Even today Section IV of the Voting Rights Act is being reconsidered, since Supreme Court Justices overturned it earlier this year. Affirmative Action cases are also being heard in California and Michigan to argue the need for institutions and businesses to admit or hire minorities. And it wasn't until recently that many Americans learned that Stand Your Ground laws can be so controversial when George Zimmerman was acquitted of the murder of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old who was fatally wounded while on his way to see his dad in Florida.
“A lot of the young adults know about Trayvon Martin but can they see that was really decided based on lawyers and judges [and the law]?…During the Civil Rights Movement there was a very acute understanding that our rights are tied to our representation in the court system,” continued Kirkland. “Now it seems there’s a gap between the movement and that our rights are tied to legal representation. It’s important for people of color to be in court, to be in judge’s seat, to be in the courtroom, in the legal setting."
Visual motivation may be hard to find when Hinds is one of the only faces of color pressing through the crowd in the rush to attend class. In her journey to finish the remaining two years, she looks to her family for motivation and support.
But for Kirkland, motivation to venture where only a few others have traveled came from the big screen first, instead of an actual person. She grew up in southeast Fresno where an attorney “wasn’t your next door neighbor,” she says. She reminds students that you don’t have to come from an affluent background or even be a straight “A” student to pass the Bar and become a lawyer.
She attended SJCL while studying to become a lawyer and caring for her two children, now three. She recently celebrated establishing a firm in Fresno along with her business partner, Attorney Heather Rozzo. The personal injury attorney says watching the Cosby Show and meeting other attorneys of color early on instilled the motivation to help turn her dream into a reality.
“I grew up watching the Cosby Show. Clair Huxtable was a good example…I grew up in southeast Fresno, which is a very poor community…I remember when I met the first African American lawyer; I was taken back…I had the opportunity to meet a female African American attorney and that was empowering because, in my mind, it let me know even if there’s one it’s a possibility,” said Kirkland.
The Hugh Goodwin Bar Association hopes to inspire students through school visits and lawyers and judges who offer the motivation and determination needed to empower them to achieve their dream.
“I was talking to one child at Roosevelt and they said I just needed someone to tell me I could do it,” said Kirkland.
To learn more about the Hugh Goodwin Bar Association, book a speaker or inquire about a law career call (559) 498-7254.
For more information on the San Joaquin College of Law visit http://www.sjcl.edu/