
D.I.C.E. oversees The Chicago Bar Association's efforts to examine diversity issues impacting our communities and our legal profession. D.I.C.E. further aims to create activities and events designed to promote diversity, inclusivity, equity, and engagement in all aspects of the CBA. The overarching mission of D.I.C.E. will be to ensure that: Diversity, which is the range of different human characteristics that make us different from each other, includes to the extent possible within the membership, a focus that incorporates, race, gender, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, age, physical attributes and disability or challenges, religious and political beliefs. Click here to read our complete mission statement. Click here to find a comprehensive list of the CBA's diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives.
Special Announcements:
Black History Month Programming:
The CBA’s 2025 Black History Month program will spotlight natural hair and the law. Featured speaker, author, Tracy Sanders Rucker, Esq., will be joined by a panel who will share their perspectives on the Illinois Crown Act that went into effect on January 1, 2023, and which prohibits employers and public schools from banning natural black hairstyles, including braids, cornrows, and dreadlocks. It also prohibits employers from discriminating against employees because of race-based hairstyles and hair textures. Register here.
More Than a Month: Black History at the DuSable Museum (CBA Podcast)
The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center is a pillar of Chicago’s cultural institutions, showcasing art and history while fostering connection to the vital story of Black history in America and the world. In honor of Black History Month, Maggie Mendenhall-Casey and Mathew Kerbis welcome Perri Irmer to learn about the museum’s continuing efforts to cultivate community and deepen understanding for all people. Perri offers insights into many notable people and events found in the museum’s exhibits and extensive archives. Later, they also discuss DuSable’s offerings during Black History Month, including school-age programming, films, lectures, online courses, arts and crafts, and much more!
Perri Irmer is President and CEO of the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, the iconic institution founded in 1961 by Dr. Margaret Burroughs. Listen here.
Diversity Scholarship Grants Available from American Arbitration Association
The Diversity Scholarship Fund was established by the AAA-ICDR Foundation through a special gift by the American Arbitration Association. The Fund provides diverse students/professionals with up to $2,000 of financial assistance towards participation in a degree program or fellowship in alternative dispute resolution or attendance at a well-recognized conference. The mission of the Diversity Scholarship Fund is to encourage diversity and inclusion within the field of ADR by supporting the pursuit of knowledge and skill development through training experiences that encourage inclusive leadership growth in the field of ADR. Learn more here.
Native American Women Study
The National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) collaborated with the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession (Commission) to publish the study report, “Excluded & Alone: Examining the Experiences of Native American Women in the Law and a Path Towards Equity.” The report documents the stories of Native American women attorneys’ experiences navigating their pursuit of a legal education and their careers in the legal profession. Read the study here.