26 February 2021
The UK Chairman of Gowling WLG has apologised after the firm was criticised for celebrating Black History Month by quoting an employee recalling how they once met a black man who was “very nice and extremely polite”.
The quote appeared as a screensaver on the computers of Gowling WLG staff in Canada.
“My daughter inspires me a lot. When she was younger, she often spoke of her friend Daniel”, read the quote. “One day, my husband and I attended an event at her school and finally got to meet Daniel. He was very nice and extremely polite; my grandmother would have said he was well brought up. Never during the course of her friendship with Daniel did my daughter mention he was black. That night, I went to sleep with the hope that one day, race-based conflicts would forever be behind us.”
March 2, 2021 at 4:27 PM
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Gowling WLG is a ginormous international law firm seriously, it has 1,400+ lawyers and 19 offices worldwide. You’d think someone at a firm that big would know that finding it noteworthy that a Black person was “very nice and extremely polite” is incredibly problematic.
The firm asked employees what Black history means to them. The responses were shared, and yikestown…. the following quote was captured on a computer screensaver in Gowling WLG Canada:
“My daughter inspires me a lot. When she was younger, she often spoke of her friend Daniel”, read the quote. “One day, my husband and I attended an event at her school and finally got to meet Daniel. He was very nice and extremely polite; my grandmother would have said he was ‘well brought up.’ Never during the course of her friendship with Daniel did my daughter mention he was black. That night, I went to sleep with the hope that one day, race-based conflicts would forever be be