LIFT stands in solidarity with Black and Brown communities in New York and across the country.
We join our partners, colleagues, clients, and friends in mourning the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless others who have been victims of police violence and other forms of race-based violence in the past.
As lawyers and advocates on behalf of unrepresented litigants in Family Court, we see firsthand the impact of systemic racism and the many societal inequities that exist.
Black communities and communities of color are disproportionately involved in Family Court proceedings, often without legal representation. Those who identify as African American and Latinx account for over 70% of the unrepresented litigants LIFT serves to help resolve matters of child support, custody and visitation and domestic violence.
Helping to ensure stable family relationships — protecting parents’ rights to their children and providing a safer future for children — are values we all share. The systems that support and safeguard these relationships require deep re-examination at this time.
The Black lives that were recently taken, and the subsequent outcry from our communities, have brought new urgency to our ongoing work of examining our structures and identifying ways to strengthen an anti-racism culture and practice within our organization. We have much more work to do and are committed to doing it – within ourselves, with our colleagues and partners and most importantly, in support of the unrepresented clients we serve in the fight for access to justice and system reform. Black Lives Matter.