Friday, October 1, 2021 | news
Yesterday, the University of Washington released a new study finding that more than half of all police killings between 1980 and 2019 were mislabeled and uncounted. The study also found that Black men are disproportionately killed by police and that, compared to men of other races, Black men’s deaths are disproportionately mislabeled by coroners or […]
Wednesday, December 22, 2021 | news
Today, the Biden administration announced that it would extend its pause on student loan repayments — which were scheduled to resume on February 1, 2022 — for an additional 90 days. Citing the continuing hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration said the extension would not end until May 1, 2022, at the […]
Wednesday, December 21, 2022 | news
Yesterday, former Texas police officer Aaron Dean was sentenced to 11 years and 10 months in prison for manslaughter in the killing of Atatiana Jefferson in October 2019. In response to this sentencing, Legal Defense Fund (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Janai Nelson issued the following statement: “Atatiana Jefferson, like Breonna Taylor, like every Black person […]
Friday, June 25, 2021 | news
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced today to 22.5 years in prison for second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter for killing George Floyd in May 2020. In response, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill issued the following statement: “While the sentencing of Derek Chauvin brings […]
Monday, April 4, 2022 | news
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted on the historic nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson for Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite her exemplary record, the Committee vote fell along party lines resulting in a tie. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer must now use a set of Senate procedures to move Judge Jackson’s […]
Tuesday, October 5, 2021 | news
Today, the United States Senate introduced the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (VRAA), a major piece of legislation aimed at protecting our democracy and the voting rights of all Americans. In response, Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), issued the following statement: “We welcome today’s […]
Tuesday, September 13, 2022 | news
Today, Senator Lindsey Graham introduced the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act into the U.S. Senate, a bill that, if passed, would impose a nationwide ban on any abortion occurring after 15 weeks. In response to the proposed legislation, Legal Defense Fund (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Janai S. Nelson issued the following statement: […]
Monday, November 20, 2023 | news
Today, a panel of federal judges in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held in a 2-1 ruling that private plaintiffs can no longer bring lawsuits under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The decision, which is binding only in the states of Arkansas, […]
Wednesday, October 6, 2021 | news
In response to the disturbing and increased targeting of school officials, including incidents of harassment and threats of violence against school board members and school staff in connection with anti-truth and anti-masking propaganda, Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), issued the following statement in support of a […]
Friday, October 2, 2020 | news
Today, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron released the audio recordings of the grand jury proceedings that resulted in former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officer Brett Hankison being charged with three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree for reportedly shooting into the apartment next door to Breonna Taylor. None of the three officers […]
