Wednesday, January 2, 2013 | news
Last week the D.C. Council failed to act on the Returning Citizens Anti-Discrimination Act of 2012, opting instead to adopt a much weaker approach to helping ex-offenders in the city find jobs. If enacted, the Returning Citizens Anti-Discrimination Act would have prohibited employers from inquiring into an applicant’s criminal history until after they make a provisional […]
Friday, March 20, 2020 | news
The coronavirus pandemic has caused profound anxiety and uncertainty throughout the United States. At the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), we are deeply committed to ensuring the health and safety of our families, colleagues, and communities. We recognize that this crisis has exposed issues that this country has ignored for too long regarding its treatment of disenfranchised groups, including communities of […]
Sunday, June 25, 2023 | news
Today marks 10 years since the Supreme Court’s decision to significantly weaken essential protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) in Shelby County v. Holder. In a decision Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg likened to throwing away an umbrella in a rainstorm, a majority of the Supreme Court held in 2013 that voting conditions […]
Thursday, February 21, 2019 | ldf-events
On, February 21st, LDF Board member, Robyn Coles, and friend of LDF, Pauletta Washington, hosted an evening of engagement featuring an intimate conversation with: Sherrilyn Ifill, LDF President and Director-Counsel Ta-Nehisi Coates, author and distinguished writer in residence at NYU’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, author and MacArthur Foundation Fellow Of the […]
Monday, December 30, 2013 | news
2013 has been particularly eventful for those of us working to protect civil rights. LDF has been aggressively involved in safeguarding all Americans’ civil rights — in particular — the right to vote. Read below for a look back on this historic year. Protecting the right to vote in the wake of Shelby County, Alabama […]
Friday, September 21, 2012 | news
LDF’s Senior Community Advocate, Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele, and Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean reflect on the first anniversary of Troy Davis’ execution and the continuing fight against the death penalty. The public’s response to Troy Davis’s plight reflects a persistent and troubling pattern among communities of color: intense organizing in response to overt instances of racial injustice […]
Friday, October 8, 2010 | case-update
Last evening, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rendered a decision in Farrakhan v. Gregoire that leaves a racially discriminatory disfranchisement law in place. LDF argued before the court in September on behalf of African-American, Latino, and Native American plaintiffs who had been denied the right to vote under Washington State’s law, which bars those […]
Thursday, October 9, 2025 | ldf-events
LDF Alumni Reception Celebrating the 85th Anniversary of the Legal Defense Fund October 9, 2025 New York City, NY We celebrate the power of connection across generations of Legal Defense Fund (LDF) alumni who have shaped our 85-year legacy. The Pioneer of Justice Award recipients reflect the brilliance, impact, and enduring spirit of the extraordinary […]
Thursday, May 17, 2018 | ldf-events
In 2018, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education turned 64. Brown invalidated racial segregation in public schools throughout the United States and paved the way for integration in nearly every aspect of American life. The case was litigated by some of the nation’s best attorneys, including Thurgood Marshall, Robert Carter, […]
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 | page
60 Years of Freedom Summer Legacies and Lessons from the Trailblazing Voting Rights Project By Gianna Baez Social Media Strategist It’s 1963 in Mississippi. Black people are paying poll taxes, taking literacy tests, losing their jobs, and facing threats and violence — all for trying to exercise their constitutional right to vote. To make matters […]
