Dear friends,

We hope this letter finds you personally healthy and your family safe.

We write this knowing that the community is hurting. In only a few short weeks, 100,000 Americans have died of COVID-19 - nearly a third of all global deaths. A disproportionate number of those deaths have been felt by Black and brown communities. However, despite this tragedy, we are forced again to face another tragedy: the murders of Black and brown Americans - Ahmaud Arbery, Nina Pop, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, and now, George Floyd, as well as countless others. SBA and Conduct Court recognizes that members of the Emory community are deeply hurting with the effects of this compounding trauma. We are mourning with you.

SBA is an anti-racist organization. Rather than being passively not racist, we are dedicated to actively supporting the diverse body of Emory Law students. This means we will provide resources, be honest when we hear, see, and experience racism, and address our own internalized prejudices. Race and race politics were and are a part of Emory’s legacy as a school in the Deep South in a civil rights capital of America.

As law students and future legal professionals, it is our responsibility to understand what role we can play in creating a just society and combating the injustices impacting marginalized communities. We encourage you to be anti-racist and educate yourself further on racism in America. You can learn more here at Tasha K. Ryals’ Shareable Anti-racism Resource Guide.

While we will not make empty promises, SBA does want to point all of you to actionable resources. For those of you who are familiar and are feeling the effects of the murders, trauma resources are provided here.

Finally, for those that want to engage as allies, links for engagement are here.

When we return to school, SBA intends on hosting a discussion on race, racial politics, and the law. We plan to extend invitations to the faculty and hope you consider joining us.

SBA is currently forming a committee that creates educational, anti-racist programming for the Emory Law community. If you want to be a part of this group, or if you have any suggestions or concerns you want to convey, please email our VP of Community Outreach at ariana.ortiz@emory.edu.

We cannot and will not normalize and desensitize ourselves to the brutalization and murder of members in our larger community. We ask our fellow allies that you not circulate images of victims’ last moments, out of respect for them, their families, and your grieving peers. This contributes to the continued trauma of our peers and friends and the dehumanization of black lives.

Thank you to Olayeni Odumosu for reaching out; thank you to BLSA Co-Chairs of Social Advocacy, Saron Musa and Mason Mariney, for providing guidance and resources. We will send further information in the next week, with a living resource guide to follow.

In Solidarity,

Your Student Bar Association and Conduct Court

Maggie, Alizé, Victor, Abbey, Bradley, Daniel, Ariana, Sami, Cecilia, Marlaina, Juan, Balean, T, Stephanie, Mason, Ashwadha, Veronica, Jingshu, Tallulah, Jung-Min, Daejha, Alli, Brandon, Michael B., Michael K., JaKayla, and Teddy

Executive Board

President - Maggie Clark

VP of Academic Affairs - Alizé Mitchell

VP of Alumni Affairs - Victor Wu

VP of Student Affairs - Abbey Hayford

VP of Student Programming - Bradley Pogostin & Daniel Shasho

VP of Community Outreach - Ariana Ortiz

Treasurer - Samantha Harrell

Secretary - Cecilia Walker

Representatives

3L Reps - Marlaina Wright, Juan Martinez, Balean Reid

2L Reps - Thuy My "T" Do, Stephanie Odigie, & Mason Mariney

AJD - Ashwadha Manoharan

LLM - Veronica Botelho Perri

JM - J. Stewart Mosbey

International Student - Jingshu Guo

ABA - Tallulah Lanier

GSGA - Jung-Min Woo

University Senate - Daejha Smith

Conduct Court

Justices - Alli Golisch & Brandon Sinnott

Prosecutor - Michael Babineau

Deputy Prosecutor - Michael Kolvek

Defender - JaKayla Dabera

Deputy Defender - Teddy Randel