Vision and Mission

The Wanton Injustice Legal Detail (WILD)’s vision is to create Twin Cities communities free of anti-Black racism and all forms of racism.

The Wanton Injustice Legal Detail (WILD)’s mission is to provide a platform through which TCDIP’s lawyers and Members can actively combat anti-Black racism and all forms of racism through direct support and partnerships with existing community organizations currently rooted in this work.  

History

The tragic murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, and the movements for racial justice that followed, profoundly affected Black attorneys, attorneys of color, our Members, and everyone connected to the work of Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP). After the initial flashpoint of grief and rage, organizations across the country renewed their efforts to address our country’s complicated history of systemic racism and its effects within our communities and workplaces.

In the summer of 2020, Darnell Cage and Dadri-Anne Graham, Emerging Leaders Group Co-Chairs at the time, courageously called for action. Leaders from TCDIP’s Board of Directors, and Member Organizations, as well as from the larger Twin Cities legal community worked together to create the Wanton Injustice Legal Detail (WILD) as a supporting 501(c)(3) to TCDIP. WILD is focused on creating a coalition of legal professionals to strategically assist active and effective efforts in our communities. WILD’s work is organized around several focus areas, including eliminating racism in policing, expanding voting rights, addressing racial inequities in education, increasing access to wealth, and more.

For years TCDIP has been committed to diversifying the legal profession in the Twin Cities. TCDIP will continue to provide programming, support, and education to Members to help them attract, recruit, advance, and retain attorneys of color. But now we know it is impossible to achieve our mission unless we are committed to ensuring that the Twin Cities values Black lives. And by focusing on the Black community, we know it will also help to uplift all communities of color.

With the foundation of WILD as a supporting non-profit, TCDIP has a unique opportunity to leverage the power and connections of attorneys and legal professionals from over 70 law firms and corporate legal departments to take direct action to combat systemic racism in the Twin Cities. The power already exists within TCDIP to make real change. This is the time to invest in the work of WILD, to recommit to our mission, vision, and values through the lens of racial justice.

Education Inequality: The purpose of this program is to combat the achievement gaps in Minnesota’s public education system between students of color and white students by identifying solutions (policy and legislative).

Voting Rights: The purpose of this program is to protect and expand voting rights in the Twin Cities, with a specific focus on Black communities. Projects may include hosting voter education and registration events and sharing information about candidates and their positions on issues that directly impact Black and other communities of color in Minnesota and nationally.

Rebuilding the Black Community and Access to Wealth Opportunities: The purpose of this program is to identify opportunities to provide Black communities and business owners with the resources necessary to (re)create wealth and prevent gentrification across the Twin Cities. We aim identify laws and policies that continue to perpetuate economic and housing disparities.

Addressing and Responding to Systemic Racism in Policing: The purpose of this program is to examine and make recommendations about how to eradicate racism in policing and create community safety for all. Projects may be focused on ensuring due process, healing, and justice for victims of police encounters.