Page 6 - March-April-CBA-Report

BL
RO
BLAC-CBA
ROUND TABLE
ROUND TABLE AT 35
On March 7, 1987, the BLAC-CBA Round Table held its first official meeting at the Federated Department Stores’ executive offices. On the eve of its 35th anniversary, we remember the Round Table’s origins, reflect on its successes, and remain focused on the future.
In celebration of its 150th Anniversary, the CBA is releasing a series of podcasts, capturing an oral history of the Cincinnati Bar Association and its members, now available for listening at cincybar.org/150. Below are excerpts from a transcript of BLAC-CBA Round Table Celebrates 35 Years, a conversation between current Round Table co-conveners Hon. Timothy A. Black and Hon. Jeffery P. Hopkins; facts and features of the Round Table’s robust history; and words from BLAC’s current president, Remington Jackson.
The following has been lightly edited for clarity.
Hon. John A. "Skip" West
past co-convener
Hon. Timothy A. Black
Hon. Jeffery P. Hopkins
‘Hearts and minds were affected’
40 years ago, the practice of law was still segregated by race. Yes, there were a handful of [Black] CBA members, but the prac- tice was segregated, and the city was struggling and a federal judge, S. Arthur Spiegel, spoke to my uncle [Hon. Robert S. Black] and to Nathaniel Jones and said, ‘You two men need to step up and call the question.’
So those two judges invited all the leadership, decision makers, managing partners, the leading legal employers, and invited them
Hon. Nathaniel R. Jones
to a meeting to discuss the state of our profession. When a judge invites you, it’s kind of like a judge orders you.
[They] drew all the decision makers into the same room one spring at what was then Federated Department Stores, now Macy’s. They talked about the fact that the practice of law was segregated, that the city was racist and that it was the responsi- bility of lawyers to be leaders and to get to work on the continuing path to racial equality.
They met most of the day. As I [understood] it from my uncle, it was loud — indeed, I now have a new word: it was stormy. It was a really frank conversation about how, ‘Are we going to inte- grate the practice of law?’ The white guys were saying, ‘We’re not going to change our standards,’ and the Black lawyers were saying, ‘That’s offensive, you don’t need to,’ and it went on.
At the end of the meeting, the only thing they really could agree on was, we need to come back and keep having this conver- sation. So, they came back on the invitation of the judges every 30 days or so, and over time, hearts and minds were affected.
Hon. Timothy A. Black, in conversation with fellow Round Table co-convener Hon. Jeffery P. Hopkins, and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker
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THE REPORT | March/April 2022 | CincyBar.org
Hon. Robert S. Black