The NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) applauds President Obama’s historic appointment of the first African American female Attorney General of the United States, Loretta Lynch. Ms. Lynch, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, would serve as the 83rd Attorney General, filling the post of the first African American Attorney General, Eric Holder.
The Department of Justice has long stood as a beacon for equality and justice. It represents our nation’s collective commitment to fair enforcement of the rule of law, and to ensuring equal opportunity in every facet of society. For nearly six decades, LDF has worked alongside the Department and its “crown jewel,” the Civil Rights Division, to ensure that our nation lives up to its promise of equality for all.
“With today’s difficult challenges in securing racial justice for communities of color, particularly in the criminal justice system, it is imperative that the Department is led by someone with an unwavering commitment to equal justice under the law. Ms. Lynch has impeccable credentials and is known for her tenacity and faithfulness to the rule of law,” said Sherrilyn Ifill, the President and Director-Counsel of LDF, the nation’s leading civil rights legal organization and a separate entity from the NAACP. “She is widely recognized for the successful prosecution of the notorious police abuse against Abner Louima in 2000. We are confident that she would continue the strong legacy of Eric Holder in trying to reduce racial bias in policing, sentencing reform and protecting the right to vote for every American.”
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About LDF
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the country’s leading civil rights legal organization. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, LDF’s mission has always been transformative — to achieve racial justice, equality, and an inclusive society. LDF has been a separate organization from the NAACP since 1957. If our name needs to be shortened, please refer to us as “NAACP Legal Defense Fund,” “Legal Defense Fund” or “LDF,” not “NAACP.”
