Read a PDF of our statement here.
LDF Statement on Elimination of DOJ’s Community Relations Service in Trump Administration’s Proposed Budget
Today, President Trump released a proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which included defunding the U.S. Justice Department’s Community Relations Service. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) Policy Director Todd A. Cox issued the following statement:
“The Community Relations Service (CRS) was established by the Civil Rights Act to help mediate and diffuse conflicts arising from new constitutional protections for marginalized populations, including people of color. Ending CRS by callously draining it of its resources is yet another move by this Administration to circumvent their legal obligations and strip minority communities of federal protections. We need the Justice Department’s ‘peacemakers’ now more than ever, and cutting off funding for the CRS – like so much of Trump’s proposed budget – is irresponsible and shameful.”
Press:
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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 and has been completely 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.
