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Zenzele Scott

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Your Take: Getting Back the Right to Vote

  The most fundamental political right in our society is the right to vote. Today (Sept. 21) the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco will hear arguments in a case (Farrakhan v. Gregoire) that accuses the state of Washington of stripping that fundamental political right from citizens in a racially […]

Your Take: Bill a Threat to Poor Students

While some of the gridlock among policymakers today can be chalked up to principled differences in political philosophy, some political stalemates are the result of policies that defy common sense. This most often happens when politicians ignore basic realities in order to further their own ideologies. This behavior is frustrating in any instance but is […]

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Your Guide to Researching State and Local Candidates and Issues

YOUR GUIDE TO LOCAL ELECTION CANDIDATE INFORMATION State and Local Election Voting Guide Elections take place every year, and this year is no exception. Though presidential, senate and congressional elections often receive the most attention, the many state and local elections taking place across the country — which will decide who serves as judges, mayors, […]

You’re on Your Own: DOJ Done Providing Guidance Clarifying Federal Law

By Todd A. Cox, LDF Policy Director On Friday, November 17th, Attorney General Jeff Sessions released a memo prohibiting the Department of Justice (DOJ) from issuing guidance documents that “have the effect of adopting new regulatory requirements or amending the law.” The memo added that in the past, DOJ and other agencies have failed to make the […]

Yes Magazine Marks Progress Against Discriminatory Voter ID Laws

Voting Rights Victories Piling Up “In a moment when this country is becoming more diverse, in which more communities of color participated in the 2008 and 2012 elections, legislatures enacted these discriminatory laws, and luckily courts stepped in to stop them more and more,” said Leah Aden, senior counsel at the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) […]

Wrongfully Convicted Former LDF Client, Richard Rosario, Finally Released From Prison After 20 Years

After serving 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, Richard Rosario, a former client of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), was freed last week, returning to his family, including his wife and children, now living in Orlando, Florida. Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark conceded that Mr. Rosario […]

Wright v. Stern: NYC Parks Case

In court papers filed in 2001, current and former employees of the New York City Parks Department alleged that African-American and Latino employees Parks workers had been denied equal employment opportunities. As a result of long-term, systemic discrimination throughout the Parks Department and rising to its highest levels, minority employees experienced widespread discrimination in pay […]

Workplace Giving

Workplace Giving Programs Support LDF with a Workplace Giving Campaign. Each year, LDF is fortunate to receive the support of dozens of companies and thousands of their employees through workplace giving campaigns. Funding from workplace giving campaigns support LDF’s litigation, policy advocacy, community organizing, and public education efforts. LDF uses these tools to bring about […]

Working to End Tax Lien Sales

LDF recently sent a letter to local officials in Cuyahoga County, Ohio urging them to implement a temporary moratorium on tax lien sales until after an investigation can be done and reforms made to the system. Recently, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on our efforts:  “The NAACP Legal Defense Fund has called for Cuyahoga County to […]

Women of Selma: The Backbone of a Movement

The Women of Selma: The Backbone of a Movement By Keecee DeVenny Senior Digital Media Strategist Every year, LDF sojourns to Selma, Alabama to commemorate the men, women, and children who braved state-sanctioned police violence as they attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in peaceful demand for their right to vote. This year’s journey […]

WNYC: State’s second highest court hears arguments in prisoner redistricting case

The New York Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in the lawsuit to overturn a law passed by the 2010 Democratic legislative majority that would count prison inmates in the communities they are from, instead of in the towns and counties where they’re incarcerated. The lawsuit was brought by six Senate Republicans–many of whom would […]

With Big Data Comes Big Responsibility: Facebook Announces Changes to “Ethnic Affinity” Ad Targeting

Deputy Director of Litigation Coty Montag and Harvard Public Interest Fellow Elizabeth Reese wrote a piece discussing Facebook’s actions to implement policies to deter discriminatory ethnic affinity advertisements. They note: “Regrettably, there has always been a market for discrimination in this country. The United States has a long history of targeting racial minorities with products […]