"Find out why they are falling in"

Archbishop Desmond Tutu passed December 26, 2021 at age 90. In the many remembrances of him, these words were attributed to him:

"There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they're falling in."

What a perfect description of holistic public defense. We can keep pulling our clients through the current charges, trying to reach the best outcome for them, fighting for them, holding them up as best we can.

But at some point, we must look beyond the current case. We need to figure out how our clients reached us in the first place. We need to look upriver at the failed systems, the generations of poverty, the inherent racism, the choices and the lack of choices that brought them to us. “Find out why they are falling in.”

And then maybe we can figure out how to keep the system from throwing them back in.

If you have a minute, watch this charming clip of Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.

And if you are interested in holistic public defense, the Kansas Holistic Defenders is hosting The Bronx Defenders to offer three days of free training (CLE credit pending) January 18 through 20, 2022 by Zoom. This includes sessions on:

• Introduction to Holistic Defense
• Negotiations from a Client-Centered Perspective
• Bail Advocacy
• Effective Investigation
• Police, Community Engagement + Community Organizing
• Working with Community Providers and Resource Building
• Resiliency + Longevity in the Work

It looks like a great program, and the Bronx Defenders know their stuff. RSVP here.

RIP Desmond Tutu.