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Pepperdine Caruso Law Holds Open Conversation to Discuss Systematic Injustice

This week, nearly 200 members of the Pepperdine Caruso Law community joined for a virtual Open Conversation on the topic of the recent instances of civil unrest and the deep-seeded history of systemic racial injustices in the US. The conversation, driven by the perspectives of students, faculty, and staff across racial and ethnic backgrounds, was so robust, that the event was extended beyond its originally allotted time. Students eloquently expressed frustrations, fears, anger, and shared their own experiences, challenging one another to determine how Pepperdine-trained lawyers can be leaders in addressing injustice in the legal system.

Chalak Richards, Assistant Dean of Student Life, Diversity, and Belonging, added, "Although this was a challenging conversation, I was pleased to see our CSOL community come together. If we continue like this, Caruso Law can be a true leader on these issues."

In an effort to continue the conversation surrounding racial injustices, Pepperdine Caruso Law will host another Open Conversation in the coming weeks with an emphasis on the same topic. Students, faculty, and staff should keep an eye on their emails for more information. Thank you to those in our community who took the time to contribute to this very important conversation. We look forward to our open and respectful dialogue and the good to come from it.

In the meantime, please find a list of resources compiled by the School of Law Diversity Council. We urge you to read these links and consider them for further conversation:

George Floyd: George Floyd: What happened in the final moments of his life (BBC News); George Floyd's Death and the Long History of Racism in Minneapolis (Time)

Ahmaud Arbery: What We Know About the Killing of Ahmaud Arbery (The Cut)

Breonna Taylor: Breonna Taylor police shooting: What we know about the Kentucky woman's death (NBC News)

Amy Cooper: White woman who called police on a black man bird-watching in Central Park has been fired (CNN)

General Experiences/thoughts: LA Times Op-Ed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Your Black colleagues may look okay (Refinery 29)

11 Things to do instead of saying "This has to stop" (HuffPost) 

Podcast: A Decade of watching Black people die (NPR CodeSwitch)