I’ll let you in on a little secret: The toughest part about law school isn’t getting through it but getting in.

Any reasonably intelligent educated person who is willing to put up with three years of b.s. from professors, thousands of pages of boring reading, and gunner classmates in law school then study enough to pass a bar exam can make a perfectly fine attorney.

Heck, look at me. If I could do it so could most of you.

It ain’t brain surgery or even as one recent radio show caller called it, “rocket surgery.”

But on the day set aside to celebrate the accomplishments of Martin Luther King for a more just society, none other than the Right Wing Wall Street Journal notes a disturbing trend in our law schools—fewer minority applicants are getting in.

An excerpt from their Law Blog Newsletter that I receive:

Study Shows Grim Outlook for Minority Law-School Enrollment

Law-school enrollment of African-Americans and Mexican-Americans has fallen by 8.6% in the past 15 years, according to a Web site created by Columbia Law and the Society of American Law Teachers. And with anti-affirmative action admissions measures gaining traction around the country, the numbers could get worse, according to an NLJ story.

The decline has come as applications to law schools among those minority groups have remained constant and law school enrollment overall has risen since 1992.

Let me be frank about this.  Does South Dakota or the United States need still more middle class, white, male attorneys like me? No.  Do we need more attorneys who come from the minority and disabled communities?  Yes.

Why do I say this?

Who is more likely to return to their community and work for justice?  Some Indian kid who grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation or some white boy like me?  Who is more likely to return to the Third Ward in Houston?  Some black kid who grew up in public housing or White Bread Todd? 

I think we all know the answers to those questions.

Even in the early days of the civil rights movement, it was the few black lawyers like Thurgood Marshall and my fellow Washburn Law alums like Charles Scott who took on Brown v. Topeka Board of Education. 

And again,frankly, most of the white students look at law school as a means to an economic end. Even here in South Dakota, most end up working for corporations or large law firms and become the tools of the capitalist class.

And, there’s nothing wrong with that.

But if you want lawyers who understand the struggle for civil and human rights, you’re more likely to get that from the Mexican kid from S.Sioux City, NE who got followed around in a store because the clerk thought they would steal something versus the rich white kid from across the river in Dakota Dunes whose biggest problem was deciding what video game to buy at Best Buy.

My law school experiences were greatly  enhanced at my law school alma maters—Washburn and Houston—because of my interactions with Native American, Black, Hispanic, LGBT, and other minority students.  I came to understand their concerns and perspectives.  They were a breath of fresh air from most of my overly competitive white colleagues.

For the civil rights movement to advance and for those who have not always shared in the American dream to get their chance, we need to make sure there are spots for those smart kids with lower LSATs who will make perfectly good—even great—attorneys.

Then, someday, can the full effect of Dr. King’s dream be realized.

Both groups spring from the workof South Dakotans Against Discrimination, the 2006 ballot committeethat nearly defeated the so-called "gay marriage" state constitutionalamendment in the 2006 election.   The groups will work for the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) South Dakotans.

EqSD is a private, non-profit S.D. corporation that is seeking IRS 504(c)(4) status as a lobbying organization.   EqSD PAC is a registered S.D. state political action committee formed in anticipation of the 2008 elections.

"During the 2006 campaign, welearned that many South Dakotans believe that it is wrong andunproductive to deny LGBT people their basic human and civil rights,"said EqSD chairperson Karen Mudd, a professional non-profit fundraiserand lesbian from Sioux Falls.    "South Dakotans from every corner of thestate, political party, and sexual orientation have come together inthe name of equality to form these organizations," she said.

• Don Frankenfeld, a former Republican state legislator and Congressional candidate from Rapid City;
• Monique Mousseaux, an anti-domestic violence advocate, member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a security guard from Rapid City;
• Todd Epp, a Democratic activist and lawyer from Harrisburg;
• Angie Buhl, an LGBT advocate and a recent graduate of the University of South Dakota from Yankton;
• Lawrence Novotny, vice chair, a long-time LGBT and environmental advocate and chemist from Brookings;
• Curtis Price, treasurer,  an active lay member of the Episcopal Church and a Federal scientist  in Rapid City; and
• David Fischer, secretary, a long-time LGBT advocate and nurse anesthetist from Aberdeen.

Some of EqSD's planned political activities in 2008include an ambitious outreach campaign to contact every statewideelected official in South Dakota, as well as monitoring legislation inthe 2008 Legislature.

EqSD PAC plans to raise at least $35,000 in contributions for the 2008 election.   Thatmoney will be used to train and assist candidates from both politicalparties as well as provide meaningful monetary contributions tocandidates in key legislative and other races.

"More and more South Dakotanswant to see positive change in support of LGBT equality and know theyneed to actively work for and support legislative candidates withintegrity who are willing to take a stand," Novotny said.   "That is why EqSD PAC was created," he added.

• Epp, chairperson;
• Frankenfeld;
• Novotny, treasurer;
• Mudd; and
• Sharon Ludwick Warner, a progressive activist and philanthropist from Rapid City.  

"Money wins elections," Epp said.  "We plan to be a political force supporting open minded and tolerant candidates," he added.

The two groups will share a website at www.eqsd.org.The website includes more information about the group, and allowsvisitors to sign up for email updates, volunteer, and to contribute.  (Contributions to EqSD and EqSD PAC are not tax deductible.) 

For more information about EqSD, contact Karen Mudd at kmmudd@yahoo.com or 271-4136.  For more information about EqSD PAC, contact Todd Epp at toddepp@eqsd.org or 351-5021

Authorized and issued by EqSD and EqSD PAC, 610 S. Grand Ave., Harrisburg, SD   57032.  EqSD treasurer is Curtis Price.  EqSD PAC treasurer is Lawrence Novotny.

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Karen Mudd and I will be on WNAX-AM’s “Drivetime” program at 5:20 p.m. CT today to talk about Equality South Dakota, LGBT rights and politics.  I hope you’ll tune in!

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Here’s my latest posting on KELOLAND.com:

Read (permalink): http://www.keloland.com/custompages/kelolandblogs/sdwatch/index.cfm?c=42

An excerpt:

If you’re not white, male, and Christian, the South Dakota Blogosphere can be a pretty ugly place.

Read these recent “gems” of anti-diversity blogging (I really hate to give traffic to these sites, but you need to read them to believe them):

• The racism of multiculturalism (Sibby Online)
  

• This Is Why I don’t Like Going To The Grocery Store (SD Potty Break)

• What Public ‘Charity’ Really Breeds (Dakota Voice)

• The Downside of Diversity? (SD Politics)

Then there was this anti-Islam religion episode Friday on KELO-AM that I wrote about here:  Waking Up to Hate Talk in Sioux Falls.

Meanwhile, the City of Sioux Falls—yes, the City of Sioux Falls, run by REPUBLICAN Mayor Dave Munson, is doing its best to try and get people to understand that cultural diversity is not a weakness but a strength of our community… .