Does anyone doubt that racism is alive and well? You have to be a hapless Pollyanna not to be profoundly saddened and disturbed by the cycle of violence endured by black men being treated like animals—or worse—by white men. The most recent instance involves the chilling death of George Floyd, who gasped for breath for almost nine minutes as a Minnesota police officer knelt on his neck.

Floyd’s violent death has unleashed an anger that’s now tearing this nation apart. But the racial incident that hits home for many in the Big Law world ended relatively peacefully—the one involving Amy Cooper, the woman who was caught on tape calling 911 to report a phony threat by “an African American man” in Central Park.