Wednesday, July 17, 2024 | news
In 1944 an explosion at Port Chicago, California killed 202 Black soldiers loading armed munitions. When the dangerous and inhumane work resumed at a nearby depot weeks later, a group of 50 Black soldiers, fearing for their safety, refused the work. The refusal was characterized as mutinous by the US Navy and the 50 were […]
Tuesday, November 27, 2018 | page
May 17th marks the 60th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the constitutional moment that compelled our country to reckon with its history and confront the unfulfilled promise of equality first articulated in our founding documents. Brown literally changed America. It is a mid-20th century course correction that ushered in a modern America that […]
Saturday, January 9, 2016 | news
Fifty-five years ago, on January 9, 1961, when the University of Georgia (UGA) accepted its first two black students—Hamilton Holmes and Charlayne Hunter–Gault —America marked a key milestone in the battle for racial justice, equal rights, and an inclusive society. UGA’s integration eventually led to the desegregation of other universities throughout the South, and helped overcome […]
Thursday, December 14, 2017 | news
Read a PDF of our statement here. LDF Celebrates Ruling From New York’s Highest Court to Help End Racially-Tainted Wrongful Convictions The New York State Court of Appeals today ruled that New York courts must instruct juries about the likelihood of eyewitness misidentification when the observer-witness is a different race than the suspect. The ruling in […]
Friday, September 20, 2024 | news
Today, in recognition of National Black Voter Registration Day, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) issues a call to action, urging all eligible Black voters to register to vote or check their voter registration status ahead of the general election on November 5, 2024. The freedoms of our democracy were denied to generations of Black Americans. […]
Monday, September 16, 2013 | news
Demetrius Newton, a treasured LDF cooperating attorney in Alabama, died recently at the age of 85. As as civil rights lawyer, he represented Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. as well as many others arrested during protests in Birmingham, Alabama. He became the first African American to serve as speaker pro-tem of the Alabama House of […]
Tuesday, January 14, 2014 | news
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) applauds the U.S. Senate’s confirmation of Judge Robert Wilkins to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Judge Wilkins is one of three individuals nominated to the D.C. Circuit by President Obama in a Rose Garden ceremony last June, attended by LDF. […]
Monday, June 20, 2022 | news
Today, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York. The new law builds on the strongest parts of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and prior state voting rights acts to protect New York voters against discrimination and empower New Yorkers and state government officials to […]
Thursday, June 30, 2022 | news
Today, following the official retirement of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was sworn in as the newest Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, making her the first Black woman to ever serve on the nation’s highest judicial body. In response to this historic occasion, Legal Defense Fund (LDF) President […]
Thursday, April 23, 2015 | news
Today’s Senate confirmation of Loretta Lynch as the 83rd Attorney General of the United States is truly historic and long overdue. Ms. Lynch will be the first African-American woman ever to lead the Department of Justice. LDF, which strongly supported the nomination, is relieved that the unprecedented delay in her confirmation vote—lasting more than 5 […]
