Read a PDF of our statement here.
Statement from Sherrilyn Ifill on Shameful Racially Charged Remarks from Rep. Steve King
“The recent remarks by Rep. Steve King are reminiscent of views that were commonly expressed in America during Jim Crow segregation,” said NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc. (LDF) President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill. “His statements are an explicit call to return to the shameful period when white supremacy was the norm in American public life.”
“LDF has been working for nearly 80 years to dismantle the vestiges of Jim Crow in this country. King’s remarks are particularly dangerous at a time when violent hate crimes have reached dangerous levels. Every American, and certainly every leader in the U.S. House of Representatives who serves with Rep. King, must condemn these horrible remarks.”
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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.
