WEBINAR: Addressing Systemic Racism in Trial Courts – Part Two

Research indicates that most U.S. organizations, including trial courts, have imbedded policies and procedures that produce inequities and disparities for people of color. This insight is not an accusation that all those in a system are racist. It means that regardless of the intentions of those who work within them, organization norms discriminate and cause racially unfair outcomes. This webinar, held on August 20, 2020, focuses on how to identify, tackle, and remove those problems.

Organizational racism will not go away through a few good conversations, a succession of implicit bias trainings, or a set of principled statements. To address it, organizational cultures – “the way we do things around here” – must change. Court leaders need to switch their thinking from “intention” to “impact.” The focus is not on intentional harm or hate that can be documented, but on collective harm that can be identified and detected by its impact on people of color. To do so requires a deeper understanding about how to uncover and correct harmful impacts, a sustained commitment to prevent such problems from reoccurring, and an overall awareness of hidden injustices.

This 75-minute Webinar (Part Two) provides court leadership teams with practical tips and resources to identify, address, and eliminate practices that disadvantage people of color. 

Topics for discussion include:

  • How to start the conversation on race and racial inequality.
  • Where and how to look at court practices that can perpetuate systemic biases and disparate outcomes.
  • Programs and practices that promote fair and equal treatment of all people/all court users.
  • Policies and practices that provide equitable opportunities for all employees ensuring a diverse and inclusive court culture and work environment for everyone.

MODERATOR

  • Dr. Brenda Wagenknecht-Ivey, CEO, PRAXIS Consulting, Inc., Denver, Colorado

PANELISTS

  • Hon. Ronald B. Adrine (ret.), Presiding/Admin. Judge, Cleveland Municipal Court, Cuyahoga County
  • Russell R. Brown, III, Court Administrator, Cleveland Municipal Court, Cuyahoga County
  • Hon. Kim Berkeley Clark, President Judge, Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County PA
  • Richard Woods, Deputy Court Administrator, Arizona Judicial Branch in Maricopa County

MATERIALS