Black American attorneys discuss the impact of DEI, inspire next generation of minorities to pursue their dreams – WHAS11.com

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) has been a big topic during this year’s Black History Month. It was also a question that was asked during the Louisville Bar Association’s (LBA) special event “Black Men in Law: A Celebration of Excellence, Resilience, and Advancing the Legal Profession” celebrating Black men who work within the legal system.
LBA invited attorneys to hear from three distinguished Black American panelists where they discussed their upbringing, advice for the next generation, and DEI.
“There’s not a lot of Black lawyers in the large regional law firm,” said panelist and senior counsel of Sazerac Company, Dwight Haygood Jr. “Understand the weight of that, understand that you know you’re not going to be able to look next door easily and find someone that looks like you in these hallways to support you when times are tough and you feel like you’re the only one.”
Vice president and general counsel at GE Appliances, Jason Brown, spoke on the topic of code switching when he’s in the work place.
“In certain ways I am trying to deliver a message I approach it differently,” Brown said to the audience. “Because of the position that I am in and how I say it matters.”
The honorable Judge Brian Edwards of Jefferson Circuit Court rounded out the panel.
“We were able to share some stories about our journey,” Edwards said. “About things that motivated us at the beginning, obstacles that we have faced during the course of our careers. We were fortunate enough to get a chance to converse with a high school student, and to talk to him about his aspirations and things that he might do on his path to getting into the legal profession.”
Black history is represented on the walls of LBA’s downtown offices. Inside you can find pictures representing the first African American attorneys to earn membership in 1953.
DuPont Manual High School sophomore Aaron Wornor co-mediated the event with Michelle Duncan, a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP and co-chair of LBA’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee.
“They told me to really keep in perspective who I am and what I wanted to do,” Wornor said. “One of the responses that I really remembered, was he told me, if you want to help people keep that in mind. Don’t lose sight of who, what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.”
Wornor also asked the panel for perspective on being a minority within the legal field and what steps they took to get their foot in the door.
“I actually thought I wanted to be a pilot when I was a kid,” Brown said. “But I participated in mock trial and just got a rush in the competition and thought, wow, they pay people to do this for a living. And it was from there that I actually started to think about what a career in law would really be about.”
DEI being targeted by the federal executive branch was also brought up in conversation.
“It’s not just a policy it’s something that flows throughout everyone’s community separately,” Wornor said. “Some people were talking about Frankfort, like going to Frankfort protesting and things like that. I think it’s really important to let your voice be known.”
The panelist were asked about the fate of DEI and their answers drew in the audience.
WHAS11 asked Edwards if he believes that policy helped him with his career.
“I know that I did not take a separate DEI bar exam,” Edwards said. “I didn’t take a separate class to become a trial lawyer. When I was trying cases juries did not listen to me and give me any extra credit because of some sort of presumed DEI. If it opened doors and gave me opportunities that perhaps historically, have been closed for me, I think that is a wonderful thing.”
The entire panel says representation matters and they hope to inspire the next generation of minorities within Kentucky.
LBA also honored Duncan with the Justice William E. McAnulty Jr. Trailblazer Award for her outstanding leadership. McAnulty Jr. was the first African American justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court.