PJLC Joins Panel Examining the Role of Law in Racial Inequality

The Peace and Justice Law Center (PJLC) joined a statewide panel hosted by the San Francisco Bar Foundation examining how the legal system has contributed to racial inequality—and what role lawyers can play in changing that reality. PJLC’s Executive Director, Sean Garcia-Leys, was invited to participate alongside other legal experts working at the intersection of law and racial justice.

The panel, titled “Narratives of Diverse Communities in the Law,” brought together attorneys and advocates from across California to discuss how legal institutions have historically reinforced racial bias, particularly in criminal courts. Panelists shared firsthand experiences representing communities of color and described the structural barriers that continue to limit meaningful accountability.

PJLC’s contribution focused on gang suppression policing and related court practices, drawing on the organization’s litigation and policy work challenging gang injunctions, gang databases, and racially biased prosecutions. The discussion highlighted how courts often defer to law enforcement narratives that disproportionately harm Black and Latino communities, and why sustained legal advocacy is necessary to counter those dynamics.

By participating in this panel, PJLC helped ground a statewide conversation in concrete legal experience, connecting abstract discussions of racism in the law to real-world outcomes for impacted communities. The invitation reflects PJLC’s growing role as a trusted voice on how legal systems can either perpetuate harm or be leveraged to advance racial justice.