Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
Encyclopedia
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law, often simply The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights or Lawyers' Committee, is a civil rights organization that was founded in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy
.
, in the midst of the American civil rights movement, President John F. Kennedy
suggested the formation of a group of lawyers to counter and reduce racial tensions by way of volunteer citizen actions. On July 10, the the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law was publicly announced. The first co-chairs of the Committee were two well-known figures in the civil rights and legal fields, Bernard Segal
and Harrison Tweed
. Over a hundred lawyers volunteered to serve in the organization, with both white and black attorneys being represented. Membership also included five past presidents of the American Bar Association
and four members of its board, as well as twelve current presidents of state bar associations, and officials from the NAACP and its legal defense fund
. On August 9, 1963, the group was officially formed as a nonprofit organization located in Washington, D.C. Its first executive director, David Stahl
, was named in December 1963.
The group's first goal was to counter legal efforts to preserve segregation in the State of Mississippi. The Mississippi office of the organization opened on June 14, 1965, with a mission of getting the bar
to take on the professional responsibility for leading in the American civil rights movement and for providing legal services where they would otherwise be unavailable.
In 1967 and 1968, the Committee began providing assistance for human and civil rights problems in South Africa
, litigating on behalf of the anti-apartheid movement
and the Congressional Black Caucus
within the United States. The Southern Africa Project continued for more than 30 years, up through the liberation of Namibia and the end of apartheid in South Africa with free and open elections in 1994.
The Committee began its Urban Areas Project after the 1968 assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr.
and Robert F. Kennedy
. This project received financial support from private foundations to organize and staff local lawyers committees in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington. The committee was initially focused on being primarily defensive, and then changed to being affirmative in nature.
in 1975, the 25-year extension of that Act in 1982, and on the Attorneys Fees Awards Act of 1976.
In 1982, the Committee’s Lloyd Cutler
represented the NAACP in Clairborne Hardware Co v. NAACP, a case where several businesses sued the NAACP and received a judgment that would have made the NAACP insolvent. Cutler argued and won the case in the U.S. Supreme Court, reversing the previous judgment.
Barbara Arnwine became the Executive Director in February 1989, succeeding Bill Robinson. The Committee added separate Fair and Affordable Housing and Environmental Justice Projects to meet growing agenda needs.
The Southern Africa Project was created to aid the evolution to majority rule in Namibia
and South Africa. The project endorsed the "Free South Africa Movement," funding legal assistance for the defense of political prisoners in southern Africa, supporting lawyers challenging apartheid laws and rent and housing cases, representing of rent-boycotters in the townships, and helping bring awareness to policymakers in the United States about human rights issues in the South African area.
The Committee challenged Mississippi congressional districts in Brooks v. Winter, which helped Mike Espy
to become the first black congressmen from Mississippi in 100 years; it also challenged municipal and county redistricting in Greenville, Jackson, Mississippi; Annapolis, Maryland; and Petersburg, Virginia. In Mississippi, the committee challenged at-large elections of state court judges in Martin v. Mabus, leading to the election of eight black judges.
recommending a "Second Call" to the bar to promote diversity. The Committee leadership helped developed a collaboration for a one-year effort to advance this cause, which was known as the Lawyers for One America Collaboration. The Committee also supported the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
("Motor Voter"), hate crime legislation, and pushing for a better version of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The Committee helped construct the framework for President Clinton's Executive Order on Environmental Justice.
Internationally, the Lawyers' Committee presented a seminal National Conference on African-American Women and the Law about the effects of discrimination of gender and race for women of color, and took part in the Non-Governmental Organization Forum in Beijing in August of 1995.
The Committee represented the NAACP in litigation over discriminatory practices by the city of Leesburg, Florida and the local hospital for minority communities in Pine Street, Carver Heights and Mont Clair (Tri-City Branch NAACP v. City of Leesburg).. The Committee received a consent decree that provided $7 million in funding to desegregate and redevelop Section 8 housing
in Dade County, Florida (Adker v. HUD). The Committee also received $26 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds for desegregation and community building for seven African American communities in Pennsylvania (Sanders v. HUD).
The Committee's voting project protected against attack congressional districts and state senate districts on behalf of black citizens in Florida (Fouts v. Harris; Chandler v. Harris) and preserved voting districts of county commission and school board members in Dooley County, Georgia (Sanders v. Dooley County, Georgia).
In employment law's Phillips v. Hooters of America case, the Committee obtained a circuit court ruling allowing a client to pursue a sexual harassment claim in federal court, and in Dowdell v. Ona Corp. and Brewer v. Miller Brewing Co. the Committee obtained $2.5 million and $2.7 million settlements, respectively, for racial harassment.
In education law, the Committee negotiated $300 million in state funding to engage reforms in Prince Georgia's County, Maryland (NAACP v. Prince George's County, Maryland Board of Education).
helped achieve a decision that confirmed a fundamental right of access to the courthouse and that Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act was a valid exercise of Congress's power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment
to abolish state immunity from suits that violated this right.
The Lawyers' Committee main focus for 2004 was its Election Protection Program, a non-partisan coalition committed to protect the voting rights citizens on Election day through prompt solutions for voters experiencing problems and through grassroots efforts, education and outreach, and litigation. Over twenty-five thousand volunteers participated and eight thousand legal volunteers worked as poll monitors and field attorneys were ready to provide immediate legal help. Thousands of reports of possible election inconsistencies were received and processed, which served as the foundation for several lawsuits against Ohio, Louisiana, and Florida.
The largest effort of 2005 was the response to the humanitarian crisis of Hurricane Katrina
. The Lawyers' Committee, in partnership with the Mississippi Center for Justice, helped set up the legal aid groundwork necessary to help the thousands of displaced families deal with the federal disaster relief bureaucracy and the various property and insurance problems.
In addition to the assistance provided directly to survivors, the Committee filed suit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(McWaters v. FEMA) to compel the agency to provide adequate relief services and to enjoin the application of rules that impeded families' ability to receive assistance.
The opinion of Brown v. Board of Education
was threatened by Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1
and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education
, with in both cases a narrowly divided Court holding that the use of race to assign students to schools as part of a voluntary desegregation program was unconstitutional. In response, the Committee's Education Project created a formal response plan and raised funds to fund a staff attorney that would provide districts guidance to make race-conscious student assignment plans, offer litigation help to defend the plans, and provide public relations advice to raise public support to the plans.
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
.
Origins: 1963-1973
During a June 21, 1963, meeting at the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, in the midst of the American civil rights movement, President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
suggested the formation of a group of lawyers to counter and reduce racial tensions by way of volunteer citizen actions. On July 10, the the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law was publicly announced. The first co-chairs of the Committee were two well-known figures in the civil rights and legal fields, Bernard Segal
Bernard Segal
Bernard G. Segal was an American lawyer known for his advocacy of the poor and his work in the Civil Rights Movement....
and Harrison Tweed
Harrison Tweed
Harrison Tweed, , was a New York City lawyer and civic leader.-Life and career:Tweed was born in New York City on October 18, 1885. He was the son of Charles Harrison Tweed, the general counsel for the Central Pacific Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio and other affiliated railroad corporations, and...
. Over a hundred lawyers volunteered to serve in the organization, with both white and black attorneys being represented. Membership also included five past presidents of the American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
and four members of its board, as well as twelve current presidents of state bar associations, and officials from the NAACP and its legal defense fund
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City....
. On August 9, 1963, the group was officially formed as a nonprofit organization located in Washington, D.C. Its first executive director, David Stahl
David Henry Stahl
David Henry Stahl was a United States federal judge.Born in the Ukraine in the Soviet Union, Stahl received an A.B. from the University of Pittsburgh in 1942 and an LL.B. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 1949. He was in the United States Army beginning in 1942. As well Attorney...
, was named in December 1963.
The group's first goal was to counter legal efforts to preserve segregation in the State of Mississippi. The Mississippi office of the organization opened on June 14, 1965, with a mission of getting the bar
Bar (law)
Bar in a legal context has three possible meanings: the division of a courtroom between its working and public areas; the process of qualifying to practice law; and the legal profession.-Courtroom division:...
to take on the professional responsibility for leading in the American civil rights movement and for providing legal services where they would otherwise be unavailable.
In 1967 and 1968, the Committee began providing assistance for human and civil rights problems in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, litigating on behalf of the anti-apartheid movement
Anti-Apartheid Movement
Anti-Apartheid Movement , originally known as the Boycott Movement, was a British organization that was at the center of the international movement opposing South Africa's system of apartheid and supporting South Africa's Blacks....
and the Congressional Black Caucus
Congressional Black Caucus
The Congressional Black Caucus is an organization representing the black members of the United States Congress. Membership is exclusive to blacks, and its chair in the 112th Congress is Representative Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri.-Aims:...
within the United States. The Southern Africa Project continued for more than 30 years, up through the liberation of Namibia and the end of apartheid in South Africa with free and open elections in 1994.
The Committee began its Urban Areas Project after the 1968 assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
and Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
. This project received financial support from private foundations to organize and staff local lawyers committees in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Washington. The committee was initially focused on being primarily defensive, and then changed to being affirmative in nature.
1973-1993
The Lawyers' Committee continued to be more national in major matters, with a focus on public policy. Work included affirmative positions on the extension of the Voting Rights ActVoting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
in 1975, the 25-year extension of that Act in 1982, and on the Attorneys Fees Awards Act of 1976.
In 1982, the Committee’s Lloyd Cutler
Lloyd Cutler
Lloyd Norton Cutler was an American attorney, who served as White House Counsel during the Democratic administrations of Presidents Carter and Clinton. He was also the trainer of the former Vice President of the European Parliament and current Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, M.P...
represented the NAACP in Clairborne Hardware Co v. NAACP, a case where several businesses sued the NAACP and received a judgment that would have made the NAACP insolvent. Cutler argued and won the case in the U.S. Supreme Court, reversing the previous judgment.
Barbara Arnwine became the Executive Director in February 1989, succeeding Bill Robinson. The Committee added separate Fair and Affordable Housing and Environmental Justice Projects to meet growing agenda needs.
The Southern Africa Project was created to aid the evolution to majority rule in Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
and South Africa. The project endorsed the "Free South Africa Movement," funding legal assistance for the defense of political prisoners in southern Africa, supporting lawyers challenging apartheid laws and rent and housing cases, representing of rent-boycotters in the townships, and helping bring awareness to policymakers in the United States about human rights issues in the South African area.
The Committee challenged Mississippi congressional districts in Brooks v. Winter, which helped Mike Espy
Mike Espy
Alphonso Michael "Mike" Espy is a former United States political figure. From 1987 to 1993, he served in the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi. He served as the Secretary of Agriculture from 1993 to 1994. He was the first African American Secretary of Agriculture...
to become the first black congressmen from Mississippi in 100 years; it also challenged municipal and county redistricting in Greenville, Jackson, Mississippi; Annapolis, Maryland; and Petersburg, Virginia. In Mississippi, the committee challenged at-large elections of state court judges in Martin v. Mabus, leading to the election of eight black judges.
1993-2003
In public policy, the Lawyers' Committee wrote President Bill ClintonBill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
recommending a "Second Call" to the bar to promote diversity. The Committee leadership helped developed a collaboration for a one-year effort to advance this cause, which was known as the Lawyers for One America Collaboration. The Committee also supported the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
National Voter Registration Act of 1993
The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 , also known as The Motor Voter Act, was signed into effect by United States President Bill Clinton on May 20, 1993, however, compliance did not become mandatory until 1995...
("Motor Voter"), hate crime legislation, and pushing for a better version of the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The Committee helped construct the framework for President Clinton's Executive Order on Environmental Justice.
Internationally, the Lawyers' Committee presented a seminal National Conference on African-American Women and the Law about the effects of discrimination of gender and race for women of color, and took part in the Non-Governmental Organization Forum in Beijing in August of 1995.
The Committee represented the NAACP in litigation over discriminatory practices by the city of Leesburg, Florida and the local hospital for minority communities in Pine Street, Carver Heights and Mont Clair (Tri-City Branch NAACP v. City of Leesburg).. The Committee received a consent decree that provided $7 million in funding to desegregate and redevelop Section 8 housing
Section 8 (housing)
Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 , as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of approximately 3.1 million low-income households...
in Dade County, Florida (Adker v. HUD). The Committee also received $26 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds for desegregation and community building for seven African American communities in Pennsylvania (Sanders v. HUD).
The Committee's voting project protected against attack congressional districts and state senate districts on behalf of black citizens in Florida (Fouts v. Harris; Chandler v. Harris) and preserved voting districts of county commission and school board members in Dooley County, Georgia (Sanders v. Dooley County, Georgia).
In employment law's Phillips v. Hooters of America case, the Committee obtained a circuit court ruling allowing a client to pursue a sexual harassment claim in federal court, and in Dowdell v. Ona Corp. and Brewer v. Miller Brewing Co. the Committee obtained $2.5 million and $2.7 million settlements, respectively, for racial harassment.
In education law, the Committee negotiated $300 million in state funding to engage reforms in Prince Georgia's County, Maryland (NAACP v. Prince George's County, Maryland Board of Education).
2003-present
In 2004, the Committee's amicus work in Tennessee v. LaneTennessee v. Lane
Tennessee v. Lane, 541 U.S. 509 , was a case in the Supreme Court of the United States involving Congress's enforcement powers under section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment....
helped achieve a decision that confirmed a fundamental right of access to the courthouse and that Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act was a valid exercise of Congress's power under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
to abolish state immunity from suits that violated this right.
The Lawyers' Committee main focus for 2004 was its Election Protection Program, a non-partisan coalition committed to protect the voting rights citizens on Election day through prompt solutions for voters experiencing problems and through grassroots efforts, education and outreach, and litigation. Over twenty-five thousand volunteers participated and eight thousand legal volunteers worked as poll monitors and field attorneys were ready to provide immediate legal help. Thousands of reports of possible election inconsistencies were received and processed, which served as the foundation for several lawsuits against Ohio, Louisiana, and Florida.
The largest effort of 2005 was the response to the humanitarian crisis of Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. The Lawyers' Committee, in partnership with the Mississippi Center for Justice, helped set up the legal aid groundwork necessary to help the thousands of displaced families deal with the federal disaster relief bureaucracy and the various property and insurance problems.
In addition to the assistance provided directly to survivors, the Committee filed suit against the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(McWaters v. FEMA) to compel the agency to provide adequate relief services and to enjoin the application of rules that impeded families' ability to receive assistance.
The opinion of Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
was threatened by Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1
Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1
Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1, 551 U.S. 701 , decided together with Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education, is a decision of the U.S...
and Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education
Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education
Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education is a case heard before the United States Supreme Court in December 2006 regarding racial quotas and explicit racial desegregation in public education. The U.S. Supreme Court handed down an opinion on June 28, 2007, rejecting the use of a student's...
, with in both cases a narrowly divided Court holding that the use of race to assign students to schools as part of a voluntary desegregation program was unconstitutional. In response, the Committee's Education Project created a formal response plan and raised funds to fund a staff attorney that would provide districts guidance to make race-conscious student assignment plans, offer litigation help to defend the plans, and provide public relations advice to raise public support to the plans.
Projects
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is structured around a number of projects that it operates on an ongoing basis:- The Community Development Project provides pro bono legal assistance to community organizations engaged in connecting minority and low-income communities with economic opportunities, affordable housing, and healthier living.
- The Educational Opportunities Project has the goal that all students receive equal educational opportunities in public schools and institutions of higher learning. It does this by promoting school integration, supporting the mission of the No Child Left Behind ActNo Child Left Behind ActThe No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is a United States Act of Congress concerning the education of children in public schools.NCLB was originally proposed by the administration of George W. Bush immediately after he took office...
, and challenging discriminatory discipline and classroom assignment practices. - The Employment Discrimination Project strives to dismantle systemic barriers faced by women and minorities in hiring and promotion and challenges all forms of racial, national origin, and sexual discrimination in the workplace, both private and governmental, through high-impact class action litigation and public policy advocacy.
- The Fair Housing Project challenges discrimination in rental and private markets and public and assisted housing in lawsuits under the Fair Housing Act. It trains local private attorneys to manage fair housing cases and cases referred from fair housing councils.
- The Legal Mobilization Project provides legal expertise and support to the Committee's other projects.
- The Public Policy Department leads the organizational policy agenda through the development and support of all Committee projects by providing policy leadership, advocacy, visibility and materials for interaction with the United States CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and on substantive priorities arising on the legislative calendar. - The Voting Rights Project aims to protect advances in voting rights for racial and ethnic minorities and other traditionally disenfranchised groups through a combined agenda of litigation, voter protection, research, advocacy, and education. This includes being active in redistrictingRedistrictingRedistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
battles.