By Niki T. Ingram, Esq., President of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation.

Last year, the Philadelphia Bar Foundation celebrated its 60th anniversary. We worked hard and ended our year on the high of the Philly Justice Ball. Our plan was to simply build upon the energy from our anniversary year, however, as we begin our 61st year the landscape has completely changed. 

Things are moving at such breakneck speed these days. Because there is so much noise and chatter, it can be difficult to hear yourself think and easy to be distracted by the dissonance and chaos that surrounds us. Here, at the Philadelphia Bar Foundation, we are determined not to let the turbulence of the moment distract us from our work. We remain committed to our mission of removing barriers to civil justice and engaging the community to support legal aid. This is more important now than it was 60 years ago as we cannot go backwards and must move forward. We also recognize that during this time we must do more. Faith and trust in the rule of law has been weakened, and it is incumbent upon us as lawyers to pledge to do all that we can to support the basic tenets of the constitution.

Rather than bemoaning the new normal we are embracing the complexity of the moment. We continue to support almost 35 non-profit partners, many of which are facing existential threats with unrestricted grants. Not only are we working to continue our support to these organizations, but we are also trying to find ways to increase that support. We are also committed to continuing our training programs, technical assistance, fellowships and awards.

In order to meet all our goals, the reality is that we must raise more money. One of our main goals this year is to engage the larger Philadelphia business community in our fundraising efforts as well as the legal community. Unified giving, from our law firm partners, remains the bedrock of our fundraising, and we are not turning away from that. But we are aware that more is needed as we work to increase our ability to do our work, and we know that we need new sources of revenue as well. In addition to seeking additional support from institutions and foundations, we are also working to increase individual contributions to the Bar Foundation, and you will hear more about these efforts as the year goes along. We are in the process of hiring a new Development Director who will be charged with this work.

For those of you who support the Bar Foundation, I ask that you continue to do so and that you spread the word about our important work to your colleagues and friends. At the Philly Justice Ball, Mary Mance, our Development and Program Lead, presented a poem that she wrote for the event. Mary’s words are even more prescient now than when she wrote them. She reminded us all that we must work together for the betterment of Philadelphia. She said in part:

“Your fight is my fight, and your hope is my own, we become more than the shortcomings…Imagine a city where every corner holds a hand outstretched… We are advocates for justice; we are those who hunger for equality. We are the bridge…When the scales of justice become an unwavering hurricane, constantly shifting the balance, we provide refuge in our education of then law, we make a lifeboat out of policy, enacting care in every single action, not leaving people stranded where they are…”

As we all ready ourselves for the fights that our coming, I am reminded also of the words of the last Congressman John Lewis who was also a civil rights activist who led three civil rights marches from Selma to Montgomery and was badly beaten in 1965 on Bloody Sunday. In 2020 when Lewis returned to Selma to commemorate Bloody Sunday, he told us to “get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America.” Those words matter more today than ever. Let’s all remember that we have to fight for the soul of America and that while it may require us to do good trouble it is trouble worth doing. It is trouble that will save our nation and save our city.

Finally, this month I urge you to read James by Percival Endicott. It is a wonderful book that deserves every award it has won. It tells the story of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of his slave Jim, and the story is completely different. The book is brilliant and is on my hall of fame shelf!