A recent article by Tom Junod about the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers NFL team, Mike Tomlin, asks one very important question:

Does it matter that Tomlin is a black coach?

The answer varied based on who the journalist asked.

For white people the answer was ‘No, of course it doesn’t matter what the racial background of the coach is.’

For black people the response was quite different: ‘Of course it matters, it has to matter, it’d better matter, you’re damn right it matters.’

In other words while white people have a tendency to see race as an issue that should be transcended, black people tend to see race as an issue to be addressed and a conversation that has only just started.

The same can be applied to law in the UK.

There have been great strides made to encourage a new generation of black and minority ethnic (BAME) members of the legal profession but this is only the start of the process. We are still a long way from not only achieving equality but also redressing the racial biases and abuses that haunt our past.

If you asked clients in the UK ‘does it matter if your lawyer is black or minority ethnic?’ the answer would mostly be ‘no’ but the truth is that it does matter. It matters a great deal. BAME legal professionals are not just there for the sake of diversity or inclusion. They represent a changing landscape in a profession that sorely needs a significant cultural shift.

You can find the full article about Mike Tomlin here: http://theundefeated.com/features/mike-tomlin-pittsburgh-steelers-in-search-of-the-real-coach/

Make a difference today.
Marcus