A reflection by Marcia Levy, VOLS Executive Director
Last week, Larry Kramer, playwright and AIDS activist, died. In the 1980s, Mr. Kramer founded ACT-UP, which helped sear in our minds not only the phrase, but the meaning of silence = death. Fear of revealing that one had the disease, marginalizing of the communities most impacted, and inaction about drug treatments, meant untold deaths in a very short period of time. Silence equaled death. It was a phrase that was particularly meaningful in those years to me and my colleagues at the Legal Aid Society, Prisoners’ Rights Project. We were not silent, but took action instead and sued the city for lack of medical treatment and conditions of confinement for incarcerated men at Rikers Island, who were diagnosed with HIV or AIDS.
I have been thinking of the meaning of that phrase over the last week. The anguish in reaction to the brutal murder of George Floyd at the hands of police officers has been anything but silent. We are talking about it in our homes, in the news, and in the protests that are erupting across the country, and in NYC. The conversations have shed light on the disparate racial and economic impact that New York City’s economic, health and social service systems bear out in everyday life and particularly now during the pandemic.
The protests about Mr. Floyd’s killing are not only in response to his death, but also about the deeper frustration that is always present, and has boiled over in the light of COVID-19. The anger will not simply go away with arrests of the police officers involved. Nor with the arrests of protesters. Systemic changes will be needed, and we cannot just say it in the moment, we have to make a commitment to making the changes that will assure racial equality and justice. We cannot be silent.
As legal service lawyers, we know through our work that healthcare and front-line workers are mostly people of color and need help with all kinds of issues, including life planning. Minority owned small business owners need legal assistance with contracts, navigating the stimulus money applications, dealing with commercial landlords and their own or staff unemployment. Immigrants need to know that they can seek benefits, and if they seek healthcare that they will not be considered a public charge. So, we must respond to this immediate crisis, but let us remember to be in for the long haul and provide representation with a racial and social justice lens.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we are working hard to find them. On June 4, at 10:00 and June 11, from 10:00 – 12:45, VOLS will host a Leadership Summit: Aligning Pro Bono and Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Initiatives to Better Serve our Communities. It will address the disparities we see in the legal profession, and how that impacts the work especially with communities of color. It is humbling to offer this Summit at this particular time. I hope it will raise challenges and brainstorm solutions. Please join us and lend your voice.
Silence = death.
