CBA Record November-December 2023

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HISTORY WILL JUDGE

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BY NINA FAIN History: Truth or Tale?

I n his 1963 play, “In White America,” former Princeton Professor Martin B. Duberman wrote in the preface that he wished to describe what it has been like to be a Black person in America (to the extent that a white man can describe it), because neither popular journalists nor professional historians had made much effort to tell the story’s truth. Both journalism and historical writings have been dominated by whites. White writ ers, whether from indifference or hos tility, had been slow to reveal American Black people’s past with honest reflection. Although acknowledging that the revela tions about America’s treatment of Black people and others is painful, the reality is that the truth must be faced if the present is to be understood and the future made more tolerable. In 2023, many groups in the United States might be able to relate to the need for truth-telling or might express simi lar sentiments about the journalists and historians of the past. However, we need to be clear that notwithstanding the many people who are ladled into the diversity stew, it is Blacks who have led the fight for social justice and who still live with the vestiges of their enslaved past. Thus, it is imperative that Black people who see themselves as liberated from racial and social injustice in a post-Obama era re-familiarize themselves with their his tory, face the truth, and not be lulled into a sense of complacency or equality by accolades they receive or celebrations they see. Ignoring old wounds and old degradations while trying to maintain one’s self-respect is not the answer. The fact is that minorities and women take a bridge too far when they pretend that simply being in the room is equivalent

to being a decision maker or exercising budget authority. Simply being “happy to be there” is a modern-day equivalent of tokenism. It does not meet the criteria for the achievement of equality, equity and substantive recognition. In his new book, The Identity Trap , renowned political scientist Yascha Mounk explores an emerging trend in American society and education. It is a cumbersome movement that promotes the separation of people by groups for the alleged educational benefit of help ing them secure their individual identi ties. Was this approach not rejected in the U.S. Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education ? In a previous book, The Great Experiment , Mounk declared that our democratic society has entered a new era, where government will be tested and may be vulnerable to failure. He calls to action those of us who want to see free government prevail over autocracies, to put all hands to the pump to ensure that our democratic way of life can endure. Now in 2024, we of the legal profes sion must be mindful of our past and speak out when we see the truth being veiled to ensure that a veneer of pleasant ness is maintained. We ignore our past at the expense of our growth, our integrity, and our future. One lesson to be learned as lawyers is to insist that the truth be told about our history and its treatment of women and minorities. That is the only way we can ensure a successful future

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Nina Fain is counsel to the JS Schirn Family Trust and serves as CBA Treasurer, Co-Chair of the DICE Committee, and is a CBA Record Editorial Board member.

Sheila Nielsen, MSW, JD sheila@nielsencareerconsulting.com

46 November/December 2023