In April 2024, a group of students and teachers from Little Rock Central High School, along with the NAACP Arkansas State Conference, filed a federal lawsuit challenging Section 16 of the LEARNS Act. Plaintiffs argued that the LEARNS Act’s prohibition on “indoctrination” is unconstitutionally vague, infringing teachers’ First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and causing them […] The post What Students Need To Know About Classroom Censorship Laws in Arkansas appeared first on Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law ..read more

WASHINGTON— Damon T. Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, will testify on March 12 before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee as part of their hearing entitled: “The Right Side of History: Protecting Voting Rights in America.” The hearing will be streamed live starting at 10 AM ET on the committee website here. Hewitt will testify to the unnecessary obstacles to casting a ballot that Black voters and other voters of color face, and cite examples of voter suppression from many states, including Texas, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and North ..read more

In response to Saturday’s tragic, racially motivated mass shooting in Jacksonville, FL Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, issued the following statement: “The horrific mass shooting in Jacksonville on Saturday was a hate crime—one in which a perpetrator motivated by white supremacist beliefs specifically sought to harm Black people. It is a tragedy, both for the families directly affected and for Black people throughout this country who have been forced to live with the knowledge that violent white supremacists can strike anywhe ..read more

Urged President to Take Strong Actions to Protect Voting Rights, Close Economic Gaps WASHINGTON, D.C. – Days after declaring a State of Emergency for democracy in the United States, the nation’s top civil rights leaders met with President Biden at the White House today to urge the administration to embolden voting rights, improve economic opportunities, and advance civil rights. On Sunday, the 59th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, these leaders delivered a call to action for all Americans to protect the right to vote. This essential American right is undoubtably un ..read more

(Washington, D.C.) — The Federal Trade Commission issued shocking findings on internet service providers’ privacy practices, including that companies profile their customers and target advertisements on the basis of race and other protected characteristics, on Thursday. The findings are part of a report studying how much personal data six large internet service providers (ISPs) collect on their users and how ISPs use that data in privacy-invasive ways. The following is a statement from David Brody,  senior counsel and senior fellow of data and privacy with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil ..read more

(COLUMBUS) – To increase access, retention, and graduation rates for students of color at flagship universities in the Great Lakes region, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, with support from the Joyce Foundation, launched the REASON Project in Ohio today. REASON is an acronym for Recruitment, Equity-in-practice, Accountability, Social-inclusion, Opportunity culture, and Networks, which are all areas of higher education that the project will focus on improving for students of color. The REASON Project is designed to identify targeted, sustainable strategies to increase access a ..read more

(Washington, D.C.) —Attorney General Merrick B. Garland called on the legal community to volunteer time and legal assistance to confront the ongoing housing and evictions crisis following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down the federal eviction moratorium. The call to action follows a recent meeting hosted by the attorney general and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta with nearly 40 State Chief Justices to discuss the national housing and eviction disparities and potential solutions. This mobilization mirrors an effort the Lawyers’ Committee has already undertaken throu ..read more

(Washington, D.C.) – The FBI reported Monday that the number of hate crimes in the United States rose to the highest level in 12 years, driven by assaults targeting Black and Asian people. This rise in hate crimes occurred in a year of renewed protests for racial justice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless others. The following is a statement from Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: “The rise in hate crimes is sad but predictable given the well-docum ..read more

Equitable access to insurance is necessary for all communities to realize the dream of homeownership. Inequality in home ownership is one of the major drivers of the racial wealth gap in the United States; as of 2020, 73.7% of white families own homes, whereas just 44% of Black families do. This gap is a direct result of our country’s shameful legacy of systemic discrimination against Black people, particularly in the realm of real estate and property ownership. “There is no doubt that Black families and individuals have been the target of historic housing segregation and discrimination that r ..read more

“The vote is precious. It is almost sacred.  It is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in democracy.” – John Lewis   Eight years ago, in the disastrous Shelby County v. Holder decision, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a significant provision of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and opened the floodgates for the voter suppression legislation and procedures prevalent in states today. The Supreme Court essentially nullified the provision of the VRA that required jurisdictions with a history of&n ..read more