‘Names can be a barrier’: Black lawyers tackle inclusion

Megan Jones and Merisha Stevenson, BBC

Kishma Bolaji came to Birmingham from the British Virgin Islands to study to become a lawyer.

“The cultural differences were stark, I felt like an outsider and was the only black student on my university course,” she said.

“I had a very strong accent and would get questions about my hair.”

Looking for a job threw up more challenges with one interviewer in particular living long in her memory.

“He invited me to the interview because he saw British Vrigin Islands on my CV and wanted to take his wife there for holiday, he didn’t ask me about the job.”

She cried all the way home.

Bolaji went on to co-found Birmingham Black Lawyers, a network which promotes diversity and inclusion and is now 15 years old.

Black aspiring lawyers continue to face significant barriers in entering the legal profession, senior crown prosecutor Tamina Greaves said.

Difficulties include having good role models, getting work experience and gaining a foot in the door in general.

Greaves, co-chair of the non-profit organisation said there was no shortage of ambition.

“There are also issues within the profession, for example we know those trying to get their foot into the profession, sometimes their name is a barrier,” she told BBC WM.

Learn more about the organization.

In the US, Black names hold the weight of history–good and bad.

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