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Taking a Stand for Racial Justice

West Tennessee Legal Services (WTLS) joins in solidarity with other civil legal aid organizations who have expressed outrage against systematic, long-standing, racial injustices in our country. As an organization devoted to the hope of a more perfect union where justice for all is a basic tenet, we know that justice unevenly administered based on the color of a person’s skin is neither justice for all nor justice at all. We mourn the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many unnamed others, and acknowledge the long history of repercussions, pain, and fear experienced by people of color in our community and nation. We abhor the persistent racism in our society that denies People of Color equal opportunity identified as self-evident truths in the Preamble of The Declaration of Independence: to pursue the unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” – specifically, to be safe and healthy, to work and live with dignity, and to flourish. 

As an institution whose mission is to advance, enforce, and defend the legal rights of low-income and vulnerable people, we see first-hand the results when access to justice is denied. Following the lead of our friends at the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association (NLADA), WTLS is taking the following steps:  

• WTLS has formed an intraoffice Racial Equality Effort group open to all employees committed to racial justice advocacy efforts both internally and in our work to effect positive change. 
• WTLS is committed to courageous conversations on race, not shying away from uncomfortable conversations about the history of racism, slavery, and white supremacy. And we are making sure WTLS provides a safe environment for us to have these conversations. 
• WTLS is forming genuine and sustainable, community-led partnerships aimed at bridging the racial divide in our country and ensuring our efforts are driven by experiences of People of Color. 
• WTLS is becoming a change agent in our own organizations and communities by further centering racial equity in our work. 

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words from his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail still ring true: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” To paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt’s statement about establishing peace: “It isn’t enough to talk about [racial justice]. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” WTLS’ purpose is to provide access to justice, and we continue our work towards that goal.  

As an institution whose mission is to advance, enforce, and defend the legal rights of low-income and vulnerable people, we see first-hand the results when access to justice is denied. Following the lead of our friends at the National Legal Aid and Defenders Association (NLADA), WTLS is taking the following steps:  

• WTLS has formed an intraoffice Racial Equality Effort group open to all employees committed to racial justice advocacy efforts both internally and in our work to effect positive change. 
• WTLS is committed to courageous conversations on race, not shying away from uncomfortable conversations about the history of racism, slavery, and white supremacy. And we are making sure WTLS provides a safe environment for us to have these conversations. 
• WTLS is forming genuine and sustainable, community-led partnerships aimed at bridging the racial divide in our country and ensuring our efforts are driven by experiences of People of Color. 
• WTLS is becoming a change agent in our own organizations and communities by further centering racial equity in our work. 

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words from his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail still ring true: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” To paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt’s statement about establishing peace: “It isn’t enough to talk about [racial justice]. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” WTLS’ purpose is to provide access to justice, and we continue our work towards that goal.