Cheryl Rice – Ready To Serve

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

I am happy to respond to this request from the KBA as it made me examine my life and where I stand on these important issues. Too often as lawyers we are absorbed in and focused on the circumstances of our practice. The problems of our country will never be resolved unless we are made to look outside the bubbles in which we live. I have lived in Knoxville all my life except when I attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate student. I graduated from The Webb School of Knoxville, a private college preparatory school which had few African American students. Although the school was founded in 1955, it was not created by Robert Webb as a response to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Mr. Webb came from a family of private school educators and recognized the need for a college preparatory school in Knoxville. During the 1960’s Mr. Webb was a private education leader encouraging integration of private schools within the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools. Those of us attending Webb School during Mr. Webb’s tenure know firsthand his commitment to equal rights for all. But as a result of my very privileged upbringing, and the deep roots my family has in this community, I have never been sufficiently challenged by the experience of a truly diverse community. This issue dramatically confronted me during the past few months as I heard Black parents describe how they had to instruct their children how to respond if they were ever stopped by the police. I witnessed in 2020 examples of a relative few of our law enforcement officers (and I do not intend to group all officers in this category) who challenged the civil rights, and at times took the lives, of young Black men. I’ve reflected with horror on how I would feel if my son had been treated in the same way as some of these young Black men. I never had a conversation with my son about how to prepare for a meeting with the police since I never considered that an issue. I thought of my close friend who is Black, a leader in the Knoxville community, and whose son played on sports teams with my son. I reached out to my friend via email to let him know I was thinking about him and his son in these difficult times. I told him knowing that if I was concerned as a White person, I could not imagine the concern he had, and must have held for many years, about what might happen to his son. I let him know I recognized that fact and, while I could not offer immediate solutions, I acknowledged the problem which is the first step towards progress. My friend, true to his character, was most appreciative and told me he felt blessed to have people in his life like me. For a brief moment we experienced solidarity via email. Now the task is to translate that feeling into real action.