June 3, 2020
Dear UMass Law Community:
In light of the recent killing of George Floyd, and the succeeding protests in both his and countless other Black men and women’s names, the UMass Law Review writes this statement in solidarity with the Black community and in support of our fellow Black law students. The purpose of our Law Review is to provide a forum for legal scholarship and debate, and we choose to use our platform to engender the dialogue these historic events require. After all, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. taught us, “[t]here comes a time when silence is betrayal.”
Our Law Review stands in unity with the Black community and all others who have called for action and change to our criminal justice system and government institutions that perpetuate these divisive inequalities. Acts of racism and violence cannot be reconciled with the mission and values of UMass Law (found here) including a respectful and collegial community that promotes and supports diversity in people and ideas and the pursuit of justice within and beyond the Commonwealth. In keeping with the mission at UMass Law, the UMass Law Review has dedicated itself to diversity, inclusion, and equity. We promise to seek out and publish scholarship highlighting issues of social justice, written by diverse legal scholars. As we move forward, we will translate this energy into the work we do, not only during our tenure as the Editorial Board for UMass Law Review, but into the future as practicing attorneys.
As law students, we are the future of the law. We vow to continue to pursue justice, to fight for change, and to demand equality for all under the law.
“There is one choice we can not make, we are incapable of making: we will not choose the path of submission and suffer the most sacred rights of our nation and our people to be ignored or violated. The wrongs against which we now array ourselves are no common wrongs; they cut to the very roots of human life.” Woodrow Wilson
Sincerely,
2020-2021 UMass Law Review Editorial Board
UMass Law Review 