This moment calls for so much more than words – so much more than a statement acknowledging racism, white supremacy, police brutality, the horrific murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others, and the shocking impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color. Brown, Goldstein & Levy stands with those demanding an end to structural racism and the pervasive mistreatment of the Black community.
Our firm has been committed to fighting against racist systems and attitudes since our founding in 1982. Chris Brown and Dan Goldstein pursued this commitment by bringing civil rights litigation, including a series of Voting Rights Act lawsuits that brought the first African-Americans to local elected offices across Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Fair Housing Act cases against landlords that denied apartments to Black tenants, and cases on behalf of children poisoned by lead paint—a persistent and endemic problem in Baltimore that has had long-standing and harmful effects on the Black community.
The fight continues in our work challenging discrimination in housing, employment, and education, demanding law enforcement accountability through civil rights litigation, and seeking justice for those who have been wrongfully convicted.
But our firm is more than the cases it litigates. We promise to do more to stamp out inequality as it exists within our communities and our industry. We pledge to do the following:
- Expand our ongoing commitment to the inclusion of Black people and other people of color in the work that we do, in our collaborations with others, and in our support of organizations in our local communities.
- Grow our understanding of bias, covert racism, identity, and equity issues through our Diversity and Inclusion Committee and anti-bias trainings, discussions, and readings.
- Evaluate our current vendors and seek out and prioritize diverse vendors, including Black-owned businesses, with whom we can do business—from office supplies to court reporter services to banks.
- Prioritize the diversity of our team, at all levels and in all roles, and provide the support they need to advance in their careers.
- Support legislative and policy changes that address systemic inequities in the legal system that disadvantage Black people and people of color.
- Pursue strategies that challenge systemic inequity, such as employer-assisted home ownership programs to support employees in purchasing homes in Baltimore and surrounding areas because home ownership is the top contributor to household wealth.
Yours in pursuit of equity,
Brown, Goldstein & Levy