Letter From McGill Groups
Dear Editor,
We are writing to you on behalf of the undersigned parties to express dismay at the choice of cover for the most recent issue of Canadian Lawyer magazine. While we appreciate the attention called to the need to increase the proportion of women and visible minorities on the bench, we question why the stylized cover portrays an apparently incarcerated black man glaring at a white woman. This cover is troublesome as it reinforces existing negative stereotypes about visible minorities, women and criminality, and thereby affects how the important issue of diversity on the bench is framed and discussed. Such stereotyping is frustrating when expressed in media, but downright hurtful and unbecoming when propagated by our peers.
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What is at issue in the article, and in our profession, is why otherwise qualified visible minority and female legal professionals are severely underrepresented on the bench and prevented from contributing to the jurisprudence and social fabric of our great country. As the article itself cogently observes, such underrepresentation is the result of a judicial selection system that is unjust, opaque and hostage to an “old boys network” way of viewing candidates and the world. It is puzzling, then, that the cover defaults to tired and offensive stereotypes when portraying visible minorities and women – a fact that is particularly galling when the article itself takes great pains to highlight the injustice of such attitudes.
In fact, given existing and growing barriers to accessibility in the legal education, most visible minority legal professionals and students possess sterling reputations and unimpeachable credentials in order to obtain a legal education, let alone access the bench. Nonetheless, harmful stereotypes persist and the time has come to seriously address such attitudes in legal publications, institutions and hiring/nomination practices.
We are not accusing Canadian Lawyer magazine of intentionally seeking to antagonize or upset its minority readership. We do not believe, or wish to believe, that anyone at the magazine or in our industry is capable of such maliciousness. Yet, no matter how benign in intent, the choice of cover was offensive and revelatory of deep-seated stereotypes and prejudices which still exist in our society and in our profession. As members of the readership, including many directly affected by the subject matter of the article, we strongly feel we are within our rights to flag this issue and invite the editors of Canadian Lawyer magazine to comment on the matter.
To conclude, we heartily agree with the substance of the article in that many visible minority and female legal professionals already face unacceptable barriers to being elevated to the bench, in part due to shoddy stereotyping and seemingly willful institutional ignorance. We simply ask that Canadian Lawyer magazine resist succumbing to the same negative attitudes and stereotypes regarding visible minorities and women as our judicial selection processes and refrain from conflating the need for diversity on the bench with implied danger or threat.
Jason Chung is a graduate of McGill University’s Faculty of Law. Ngozi Okidegbe is a 4th year student at McGill University’s Faculty of Law. They are writing on behalf of the undersigned parties.
Center for Research Action on Race Relations
Radlaw McGill/Communauté juridique radicale de McGill
The Black Law Students’ Association of McGill University
The Feminist Collective of McGill Law Students | Le collectif des étudiant-e-s féministes en droit à McGill
Simone Samuels, Student at École du Barreau
Mark Phillips, McGill Law 4L
Talia Joundi, McGill Law 3L
Martha chertkow, McGill Law 3L
Charlotte-Anne Malischewski, McGill Law 3L
Hersi Hujaleh, McGill Law 3L
Delaney Greig, McGill Law 3L
Olivier Jarda.McGill Law 3L
Moses Gashirabake, McGill Law 2L
Canadian Lawyer’s Response (available here)
Canadian Lawyer is very concerned about the reaction from some members of the bar to the cover of our September issue. We regret the image has been interpreted in a way that was never our intention.
The intent of the cover was to illustrate a woman waiting and having to bide her time trying to figure out the password or key to get through a locked door, consistent with the theme of the article. The figure behind the door with a speakeasy-type slider is in the shadows, representing the gatekeeper of the establishment/old order looking askew at this person trying to break the code and get into the private club (ie: the bench).
Canadian Lawyer is well known for our promotion and support of diversity issues in the profession and in no way was the image on the cover meant to harken back to old stereotypes or implied threats of danger. The door represents the barrier to a private club and not a prison cell showing “an apparently incarcerated black man glaring at a white woman,” as some readers have suggested.
That said, Canadian Lawyer sincerely regrets that the image was seen as reinforcing negative stereotypes. We do appreciate the input of our readers and value all opinions. Going forward, the editorial team will take all possible steps to be more sensitive and aware of how images may be interpreted.
Yours truly,
Gail J. Cohen
Editor in Chief
Follow-Up From McGill Groups
Dear Editor,
Your response is duly noted. Unfortunately, we find it underwhelming and disingenuous. We have several comments with regard to your response.
1) We wonder why specific letters and comments relating to your flawed cover were not published. To issue a response without providing the impetus behind it seems to deny an opportunity for real dialogue and transparency.
2) Your cover artist, Liam Brazier, has acknowledged on Twitter that the man behind the door was supposed to be a ‘poc’, person of colour. (“…I chose to include a “poc” just as I chose to include a brunette woman, no point did mag relay that it was askew with article”)
3) Even if Mr. Brazier had not confirmed the ethnicity of the figure, shadows do not operate in the way you claim – skin colour does not turn brown in the absence of light.
We are troubled by the fact that your recent response is a non-apology that seeks to ignore our real concerns by stipulating that such concerns are the result of a “misinterpretation”. Such a response demonstrates to us a troubling lack of regard for a significant portion of your readership that took the time and effort to bring this issue to your attention. It also demonstrates a lack of concern for the issue of diversifying the judiciary with respect to visible minorities who make up an even less significant portion of judges than women. Regardless of your intent, your actions have left us with a troubling caricature of a black man as a symbol of the “old boys” network that acts to keep women off the bench – a symbol that is in contradiction to reality since black men make up a very small percentage of judges in Canada. Both the troubling and factually incorrect aspects of the image leaves us wondering about the extent of your magazine’s commitment to diversify the bench in regards to visible minorities and women.
We are simply asking that Canadian Lawyer magazine acknowledge the problems associated with the cover, particularly the fact that the image reinforces negative attitudes and stereotypes about visible minorities and women. Such an image has no place in your reputable magazine nor as an accompaniment to a serious news story about the need for greater diversity in the judicial selection processes.
Despite this, we believe that this situation provides a unique opportunity for Canadian Lawyer magazine to highlight its commitment to diversity and its readership, a readership which includes those from all different backgrounds. We believe this can be accomplished by Canadian Magazine issuing a sincere apology, retracting the image from their website and including an article in its next edition further examining the issue of gender and racial homogeneity of the upper echelons of our profession.
We look forward to your response.
Jason Chung is a graduate of McGill University’s Faculty of Law. Ngozi Okidegbe is a 4th year student at McGill University’s Faculty of Law.