{"id":864,"date":"2010-11-29T15:59:36","date_gmt":"2010-11-29T15:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harvardblsa.com\/?p=864"},"modified":"2012-12-12T21:37:49","modified_gmt":"2012-12-12T21:37:49","slug":"hblsa-open-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orgs.law.harvard.edu\/blsa\/2010\/11\/29\/hblsa-open-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"HBLSA Open Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Click here for PDF<\/a> version)<\/p>\n

November 29, 2010<\/p>\n

To Whom It May Concern:<\/p>\n

Members of the Harvard and Greater Boston community have come together to address an incident that
\noccurred at an after-party for the Harvard-Yale game on Saturday, November 20, 2010. During this
\nincident, a group of primarily black patrons were asked to leave a downtown Boston nightclub. Others
\non the guest list were refused entrance altogether.<\/p>\n

Upon arrival at the party location, Cure Lounge, partygoers were required to provide a Harvard ID in
\naddition to valid state identification, despite the fact that their names were on an official list provided by
\nthe party organizers. Those waiting in line were not put on notice of this additional requirement
\nbeforehand, and in the wake of this, people who had pre-registered and paid to attend the event were
\nturned away at the door. Those patrons that did make it inside Cure Lounge eventually were asked to
\nleave the establishment. The party planners reported that \u201c[M]anagement decided to shut the party down
\nas to avoid the hypothetical chance of attracting the \u2018wrong crowd.\u2019\u201d This assumption was expressed as
\nthe basis for their requirement of Harvard IDs. The implications of these statements and the collective
\nevents of Saturday are beyond troubling.<\/p>\n

Our united message is simple: Prejudicial assumptions and manifestations of racial and social inequality
\nare social justice issues that concern every group, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or other societal
\npositioning. An affront to one member of our community is an affront to us all, and we will not stand for
\nclose-minded behaviors or assumptions. We will not support or patronize any establishments that use
\nsuch assumptions as a basis for exclusion and\/or discrimination. It is with this awareness and solidarity
\nthat we stand together to fight injustice, whatever its form may be.<\/p>\n

While the incident on November 20th was deeply disturbing, we recognize that it is not substantively
\nequal to issues that so many other people of color face in Boston and across the nation. The larger
\ncommunity is still mourning the devastating loss of four individuals slain just a few short months ago in
\nMattapan. The skyrocketing incarceration rates of minorities continue to leave voids in the families and
\ncommunities left behind. The recent cholera outbreak continues to wreak havoc on the people of Haiti,
\nand this impact resonates through the Boston area, which proudly boasts a robust Haitian community.<\/p>\n

The reality is that discrimination and racial injustice know no boundaries. This recent incident is only
\none narrative in a larger story of continued stereotyping and profiling that plagues countless Bostonians
\nand Americans; there is nothing special about the fact that many of the partygoers were from Harvard,
\nYale and other educational institutions. We are not immune from the threat of bigotry and ignorance, but
\nwe are committed to using this incident as a platform to draw attention to greater issues of injustice
\noccurring regionally and nationally.<\/p>\n

We are writing this letter with the hope that it will provide a forum for candid, open and deliberative
\nconversations about societal inequities, the danger of stereotyping, and the ways people interact with
\neach other. It is our collective hope that as a community we will emerge more informed about issues of
\ninjustice, more engaged with our fellow community members and more committed to not only acting
\nupon issues when they affect us personally, but also addressing them when they affect our neighbors.
\nMore than ever, we recognize that injustice anywhere truly is a threat to justice everywhere. Today we
\nstand, committed to fighting that threat regardless of its form or intended victim.
\nOur efforts will not end here. Our resolve is strong. Our peers are engaged. We look forward to
\nexpanding the dialogue on the impact of these issues on all people. We will work collaboratively to fight
\nback against prejudicial assumptions and manifestations of social inequality.<\/p>\n

Sincerely,<\/p>\n

Harvard Black Law Students Association
\nAmerican Constitution Society- Harvard
\nAsian Pacific American Law Student Association- Harvard
\nBlack Student Health Organization of Harvard School of Public Health
\nHarvard Caribbean Law Association
\nHarvard Graduate School of Education Black Student Union
\nHarvard Graduate School of Education Policy and Management
\nHarvard Immigration Project
\nHarvard Jewish Law Students Association
\nHarvard Journal of Law and Gender
\nHarvard Journal of Racial and Ethnic Justice
\nHarvard Lambda
\nHarvard Law and Health Care Society
\nHarvard Law School Advocates for Human Rights
\nHarvard Law School Alliance for Israel
\nHarvard Law School Justice for Palestine
\nHarvard NAACP
\nHarvard Law School National Lawyers Guild
\nHarvard Law School Student Bar Association
\nHarvard Law Students for Reproductive Justice
\nHarvard Transfer Student Organization
\nMassachusetts Black Women Attorneys
\nMiddle East Law Students Association- Harvard
\nNational Black Law Students Association
\nNational Lawyers Guild- HLS Chapter
\nPrison Legal Assistance Project
\nProject No One Leaves
\nScales of Justice A Cappella
\nSouth Asian Law Students Association- Harvard
\nWomen\u2019s Law Association- Harvard
\nMore than 200 Individuals from the Harvard and Greater Boston Community<\/p>\n

Click here for PDF<\/a> version.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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