Like many of you, we were heartbroken and outraged by the senseless murder of George Floyd at the hands of police. Systemic racism and violence against Black Americans is entrenched in our country and this is nowhere more present than our criminal justice system. As law students, we are angered by the injustices that black members of the community have faced in our legal system for centuries and are committed to reforming this system. As citizens, we support the protestors across the country advocating for justice and we especially support those hurting in our own community. As human beings, we believe that everyone should be guaranteed the same basic rights.
Sports and entertainment have long been a platform for social change and activism in America and we pledge to continue to use our platform to amplify the voices fighting for equality in our country. Athletes such as Muhammad Ali, Althea Gibson, Bill Russell, Jackie Robinson and, more recently, Colin Kaepernick have demonstrated incredible courage in advocating for racial equality and fighting against policy brutality. We are inspired by these athletes, and the countless others who have participated in this fight, and pledge to continue promoting and supporting movements that seek to dismantle racism in America and fight toward justice.
As such, we will each personally be matching contributions, up to $1000, for a total of $2000, for any donation made by a JSEL member or supporter to organizations supporting movements and organizations combatting racism in America, promoting criminal justice reform, and stopping police brutality. We urge other leaders at Harvard Law School to do the same.
We know that it is a long road of fighting for equality and justice in America. We will continue the legacy of using sports as a platform to wage this fight. To participate in our donation matching, please send receipts to jsel@mail.law.harvard.edu.
– Madison Martin and Will Lindsey
Organizations we have supported thus far:
Black Lives Matter
Bukit Bail Fund
The Equal Justice Initiative
The Innocence Project
The NAACP
The Minneapolis Freedom Fund
The North Carolina Freedom Fund