Notes From the President & CEO
THE MEDIA, AND BIAS
THERE ARE FEW INFLUENCES AS PROFOUND AND PERVASIVE AS THE MEDIA. Everything from our political opinions, to our consumer habits, to our perceptions of others and indeed ourselves is shaped by the images and ideas we see in newspapers, on television, and on the Internet. Te intersection of the law and media presents interesting questions about the impact of these two powerful forces on American culture. In this issue of Diversity and the Bar we take a look
at lawyers in the media. We introduce you to some of the talented attorneys who cover and analyze today’s most pressing legal issues. We examine their role and the difficulties incumbent in presenting complex legal issues to laypersons accustomed to today’s compressed communications formats. In the process, we reveal that there is as much to the diversity within their ranks as there is to the profession at large. Te issue of implicit bias is finally gaining currency.
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Tis is the scientifically supported notion that much of our interaction with people, particularly those of a different race, is driven more by learned stereotypes that operate automatically—and therefore unconsciously. Tis notion is at the heart of much of the inclusiveness train- ing that MCCA has conducted through the Academy for Leadership and Inclusiveness seminars that we host around the country. Tere is also a wealth of information available through the American Values Institute which, on their Web site
americansforamericanvalues.org, explores the implicit bias research conducted by Jerry Kang and Mahzarin Banaji. In their article “Fair Measures,” Kang and Banaji explain that “…mechanisms of bias [are] produced by the current, ordinary workings of human brains—which are programmed through culture, media, and the material context.” We’ve come to learn that much of the lack of
diversity and inclusiveness in our profession is shaped not so much by intentional biases against people whom
Publications Staff
President & CEO Joseph K. West
Founder and Publisher Emeritus Lloyd M. Johnson Jr.
Editor-in-Chief Joshua H. Shields
Publishing Consultants Bill Cox Toni Coleman
Advertising Dan Cooksey
Design/Art Direction Quad/Graphics Creative Solutions
DIVERSITY & THE BAR® JULY/AUGUST 2012 MCCA® Staff
Jennifer Chen Mahzarine Chinoy David Chu Donna Crook Brandon M. Fitzgerald Jessica Martinez Andrea Pimm Connie Swindell-Harding
Contributing Writers Tom Calarco Patrick Folliard Dianne Hayes Niki Mitchell Michelle Nealy Joshua H. Shields Sherry Williams
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we don’t resemble, but by a bias for people we do. Understanding this dynamic is the first step to taking conscious actions to address the problem. I encour- age you to register for this year’s MCCA Pathways to Diversity CLE conference (taking place September 10, 2012 in New York City), where we will explore all of these issues during enlightening seminars and practi- cal workshops that will help your organization take measurable steps toward a more diverse and inclusive environment. We also hope you will join us the fol- lowing evening, September 11, for our MCCA Awards Gala where we will honor the remarkable career and contributions of former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Dennis Archer, who was the first minority president of the American Bar Association, with this year’s MCCA Lifetime Achievement Award. We look forward to seeing you in New York.
JOSEPH K. WEST President & CEO
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