Wednesday, March 21, 2018 | news
In response to the opioid crisis, the Trump Administration is proposing pursuing the death penalty for those convicted of drug trafficking. Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel at NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), issued the following statement: “There are perhaps no two areas in the criminal justice system that are marked by greater racial disparities […]
Wednesday, July 6, 2016 | news
Last night, graphic footage taken by a witness’s cell phone and circulated widely online, showed Alton Sterling, 37, being shot multiple times outside a convenience store in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as two police officers pinned him to the ground. Peaceful protests against police brutality and excessive use of force have already begun in Baton Rouge […]
Thursday, May 4, 2023 | news
On May 1, a white former U.S. Marine killed Jordan Neely, an unhoused Black man, using a chokehold while in a New York City public transit car. Today, the city medical examiner ruled Neely’s death a homicide. The Manhattan District Attorney is currently investigating the case. No arrests have been made. In response to this […]
Wednesday, August 7, 2024 | news
Last week, the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Petteway v. Galveston County that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act does not permit multiracial coalitions of voters to challenge racially discriminatory redistricting plans. The ruling impacts three southern states – Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. LDF filed an amicus brief in support of the […]
Friday, September 6, 2024 | news
On August 29, a majority of the en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision that allows the state of Louisiana to end the landmark Chisom consent decree over various dissents. The Chisom consent decree ensured Black Louisianans had an opportunity to elect their preferred member to […]
Friday, January 31, 2020 | news
Today, the Trump administration announced that it is expanding its current Muslim travel ban, adding several more predominantly Muslim countries to the list of those whose citizens will face extensive restrictions on their ability to immigrate to the United States. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) strongly condemns this discriminatory act, which […]
Tuesday, June 21, 2022 | news
Today, the United States Supreme Court released its opinion in Carson v. Makin, a high-profile case with potential implications for the separation of Church and State and the right to an equal education. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court held that a Maine law banning recipients of tuition assistance from using the state-provided support to […]
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 | news
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration’s request to immediately stop the 2020 Census count, suspending a lower court’s order that the administration keep the response period open through the end of October. Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) released the following statement in […]
Monday, November 15, 2021 | news
Today, Senator Patrick Leahy announced that he will not seek reelection to the U.S. Senate in the 2022 election. Senator Leahy, who at the time of his election in 1974 was the youngest senator ever elected from his home state, has served the people of Vermont since 1975. In response, Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel […]
Friday, November 16, 2018 | news
Sherrilyn Ifill, president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), issued the following statement in response to Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith’s comments that making voting “a little more difficult” for “liberal” students is “a great idea”: “Calling voter suppression ‘a great idea’ is repugnant to our laws and ideals. Within the […]
