Read the PDF of our statement here.
LDF Statement on Reports Detailing Justice Department Efforts to Undermine Affirmative Action
Today, news reports suggested that the Justice Department intends to challenge affirmative action at colleges and universities across the country. Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), issued the following statement:
“Attorney General Sessions reportedly intends to waste taxpayer resources relitigating last year’s Supreme Court ruling upholding decades of precedent in favor of affirmative action in higher education. Affirmative action is rooted in our nation’s fundamental commitment to equality, a commitment this Administration woefully lacks and has expressed hostility towards. From Brown v. Board of Education to Fisher v. UT Austin, LDF has fought to ensure that every child is afforded an equal opportunity to succeed, and we will bring the full force of the law if this Justice Department attempts to resegregate our institutions of higher learning.
“This is the latest front in Attorney General Sessions’ full-scale attack on civil rights. From LGBTQ discrimination, to voter suppression, to endorsing police violence, this Administration is intent on rolling back civil rights progress.”
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.
