Today, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) joined the Greater Tangipahoa Parish NAACP Branch in sending a letter to the Tangipahoa School District outlining concerns that the current district map used to elect members to the Tangipahoa Parish School Board may violate Section Two of the Voting Rights Act. In our letter, we urge the school board to take seriously its obligation to ensure that voters of color have an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice. Based on demographics alone, Tangipahoa’s Black community is severely underrepresented on the school board. LDF is urging the School Board to consider school board plans that ensure non-dilution of Black voting strength in Tangipahoa Parish.
Read the full letter here.
On August 18, 2021, the attorneys for the Tangipahoa School District sent LDF this letter and this exhibit. In response, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc. sent this letter.
On December 6, 2021, LDF sent this letter to the Tangipahoa School Board expressing concern that the Tangipahoa Parish School Board Policy Committee may act on flawed testimony offered during the Committee’s November 2, 2021 meeting.
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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization. LDF has been separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Follow LDF on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
