Saturday, January 11, 2025 | news
The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) mourns the loss of President Jimmy Carter, the 39th President of the United States. A lifelong champion of human rights and powerful proponent of racial justice in America, President Carter broke new ground during his political career and presidency to establish crucial progress toward equality and civil rights, including in partnership with […]
Monday, September 29, 2025 | news
Honoring James E. “Fergie” Ferguson II 1942-2025 James Ferguson (Source: LDF Archives) The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) deeply mourns the loss of James E. “Fergie” Ferguson II, the legendary and pioneering civil rights champion whose extraordinary legal advocacy reshaped the fight for racial justice in North Carolina and beyond. Throughout his remarkable life and career […]
Friday, December 6, 2013 | news
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. humbly honors the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, and a leader in the struggle against racial oppression and apartheid. Mr. Mandela was a hero to not only blacks and whites in South Africa, but to people all around the […]
Saturday, January 18, 2014 | news
LDF is honored to work towards Dr. King’s dream of racial equality. As we celebrate Dr. King’s birthday, take a look at an op-ed Sherrilyn Ifill penned earlier this year commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington. Why we still march 50 years after the seminal event of the civil rights era, the […]
Saturday, September 19, 2020 | news
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) deeply mourns the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an indefatigable icon of American jurisprudence who tirelessly dedicated her life to advancing civil rights, especially the rights of women. Justice Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the nation’s highest court and, amid […]
Saturday, May 17, 2014 | news
LDF President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill today released the following statement in recognition of the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education and its historical significance as one of the greatest Supreme Court decisions of the 20th century: “The Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education Brown stands as perhaps the […]
Sunday, May 25, 2025 | news
Today marks 5 years since former police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in broad daylight in Minneapolis. Chauvin is currently serving a sentence of 22.5 years following criminal convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 242 for willfully depriving George Floyd of his federal rights, and under state charges for (1) unintentional second-degree murder, (2) third-degree murder, and (3) […]
Friday, December 16, 2022 | news
Today, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is instituting a new charging policy that will seek to end sentencing disparities in cases that involve crack-cocaine or powder cocaine and requires federal prosecutors to follow additional procedures before charging mandatory minimums, among other changes. In response to this policy […]
Wednesday, June 25, 2014 | news
Shelby County v. Holder One-Year Anniversary Media Highlights: Ifill and Montgomery are featured in Montgomery Adviser article on the Senate Judiciary Hearing Ryan Haygood argues in the Houston Chronicle that “States must be held accountable for how they treat voters: Urge Congress to pass Voting Rights Amendment Act” Sherrilyn Ifill appears on The Joy Reid Report […]
Wednesday, July 16, 2014 | news
Both Sides Find Reason for Optimism After Latest Ruling on Texas Affirmative Action, Diverse, Jul 17, 2014 Lower Court Upholds Affirmative Action at University of Texas at Austin, Ms. Magazine, Jul 16, 20214 Appeals Court Upholds University of Texas’s Affirmative Action Policy, BET, Jul 16, 20214 Affirmative action could be headed back to the Supreme […]
