Birmingham Law Society REACH Subcommittee

As a member of the Birmingham Law Society REACH (Race, Ethnicity and Cultural Heritage) subcommittee, I am passionate about the promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion within the Birmingham legal sector.

On 12 May 2022, the REACH subcommittee held a networking event and movie screening at the Birmingham MAC. The event was very well attended, and it was a pleasure seeing people in person. The proceeds for the event went towards the Birmingham Law Society President Charity, SIFA Fireside and Walk the Walk. Many people who are well known within the Birmingham legal circuit attended. It was really positive to see a huge variety in the people who attended, including solicitors, barristers, lecturers and students.

The movie we decided to screen was entitled ‘Just Mercy’, a film based on real events. The film was centered around an African American man who was wrongly placed on death row and the journey of a young Black lawyer who fought for his justice. The movie focuses on the injustices that many Black people faced, and continue to face, within the American criminal justice system. The movie was extremely powerful and unfortunately contained many discriminatory ideologies which exist to this very day, and prevail not only in America but around the world.

It is hoped that by holding events like this, we can encourage more conversations about racial injustice and how to address these problems within our own field. Racial injustice and inequality unfortunately remain widespread, and it is first important for everyone to recognise our own internal prejudices so that we can change them.

We will be holding more events like this in the future, and it is hoped that more people are able to attend.