Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was founded in 1963 at the request of President

We focus our efforts in six core project areas: Community Development, Educational Opportunities, Employment Discrimination, Environmental Justice, Fair Housing and Fair Lending, and Voting Rights

Today, we remember Emmett Till, whose murder on August 28, 1955, became a catalyst for the modern Civil Rights Movement....
08/28/2026

Today, we remember Emmett Till, whose murder on August 28, 1955, became a catalyst for the modern Civil Rights Movement.

Just 14 years old, Emmett was abducted, tortured, and murdered in an act of racist violence that exposed the brutality of white supremacy and galvanized generations of advocates to demand justice and equality. His mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, made the courageous decision to hold an open-casket funeral, ensuring the world could not look away from the injustice her son endured.

As we honor Emmett Till's memory, we also recognize the enduring responsibility to confront racial injustice, defend civil rights, and build a future where every person is treated with dignity, humanity, and equal protection under the law.

We remember. We reflect. We remain committed to the pursuit of justice.

President Trump’s latest attack on mail-in voting is now being carried out through new U.S. Postal Service rules. Follow...
08/28/2026

President Trump’s latest attack on mail-in voting is now being carried out through new U.S. Postal Service rules. Following his earlier executive order, USPS has imposed illegal restrictions that make it harder for people to vote by mail.

The new rules will disrupt mail voting, override state election laws, and could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters—including voters of color, seniors, rural residents, voters with disabilities, and military personnel overseas—just a little over two months before the November election.

“These mail-in ballot restrictions threaten to disenfranchise millions of eligible voters who rely on mail voting to participate in our democracy while balancing work, caregiving responsibilities, disabilities, and other realities of daily life,” said Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “We will fight to ensure our elections are free and fair, and that eligible voters are not shut out—especially Black voters and other voters of color, who are frequently targeted by voter suppression schemes.”

Rob Weiner, director of the Lawyers' Committee’s Voting Rights Project, said: “The President is systematically attempting to undermine our democracy. His latest gambit--the attack on mail-in voting--is not only baseless, but deceptive. The supposed rationale for the President’s Executive Order and the Postal Service rule is to stop fraud and noncitizen voting by mail. But the amount of such misconduct is microscopic. The President’s edict requiring the Postal Service to issue a new rule restricting mail-in voting, and the Postal Service’s submissive obedience, advance a different purpose—to obstruct voting by people of color and those who oppose the President. The Lawyers’ Committee will fight this attack on the right to vote and will relentlessly oppose the President’s efforts to tear down the democratic system.”

Read our full statement here: https://bit.ly/4y33G7v

Every generation has something at stake. Tomorrow, we march.On August 28, people from across the country will gather at ...
08/27/2026

Every generation has something at stake. Tomorrow, we march.

On August 28, people from across the country will gather at the Lincoln Memorial to defend voting rights, demand economic dignity, and call for a future that families can afford.

The March on Washington: Defend the Vote is convened by the National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute and co-chaired by Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and Arndrea Waters King.

This nonpartisan, interfaith, and intergenerational gathering is open to people from every community.

Learn more and register: MarchOnWashington2026.com

The fight for equal opportunity requires accountability. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The Legal De...
08/25/2026

The fight for equal opportunity requires accountability.

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, The Legal Defense Fund, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and 40+ civil rights organizations joined in urging the EEOC to preserve longstanding EEO demographic data reporting requirements—a critical tool for identifying and addressing workplace discrimination and protecting equal opportunity for Black workers and other workers of color.

Read our comment: https://tinyurl.com/2b8cy798

Every generation has something at stake.On August 28, people from across the country will gather at the Lincoln Memorial...
08/21/2026

Every generation has something at stake.

On August 28, people from across the country will gather at the Lincoln Memorial to defend voting rights, demand economic dignity, and call for a future that families can afford.

The March on Washington: Defend the Vote is convened by the National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute and co-chaired by Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and Arndrea Waters King.

This is a nonpartisan, interfaith, and intergenerational gathering. It is open to people from every community.

Learn more and register: MarchOnWashington2026.com

Today, we recognize the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, a historic milestone that expanded voting...
08/18/2026

Today, we recognize the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, a historic milestone that expanded voting rights by prohibiting the denial of the right to vote on the basis of s*x.

While this amendment marked significant progress, many women—particularly Black women, Native women, Asian American women, Latina women, and other women of color—continued to face discriminatory barriers that prevented them from fully exercising their right to vote for decades afterward.

As we commemorate this anniversary, we also recognize that protecting the freedom to vote requires ongoing vigilance. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law remains committed to advancing an inclusive democracy where every eligible voter has an equal opportunity to make their voice heard.

Employment discrimination doesn’t disappear when we stop collecting the data that exposes it.Today, Maya Raghu, national...
08/11/2026

Employment discrimination doesn’t disappear when we stop collecting the data that exposes it.

Today, Maya Raghu, national director of the Protecting and Advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, testified before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), urging the agency to withdraw its proposal to eliminate longstanding EEO workforce demographic data collection requirements.

For decades, this EEO data, submitted to the EEOC by employers, has helped identify disparities in hiring, promotion, and workplace opportunity—and has provided workers, employers, advocates, and enforcement agencies with critical information needed to advance equal employment opportunity.

Eliminating these data collections would make discrimination harder to detect, weaken civil rights enforcement, and place an even greater burden on workers seeking to uncover systemic inequities.

As Raghu testified: “Eliminating EEO data collection does not eliminate inequality, it just makes it easier to ignore.”

The Lawyers’ Committee urges the EEOC to preserve its EEO data collection requirements and withdraw this proposal.

Read Maya Raghu’s full testimony: https://tinyurl.com/4x2xe6zz

Alabamians today head to the polls to vote with gerrymandered maps from three years ago, after political leaders swiftly...
08/11/2026

Alabamians today head to the polls to vote with gerrymandered maps from three years ago, after political leaders swiftly and eagerly undid advocates’ hard-won progress for a second majority-Black district.

But Black voters have been showing up in droves across the country, determined to be heard. We witnessed spikes in turnout across the Black Belt in June, a testament to the resolve and strength of this electorate. Black communities have refused to let unfair maps silence them, and we hope that this election is no different.

The Election Protection Coalition is actively monitoring and fielding voter inquiries and concerns today and every day, ensuring fair access to the ballot. Our nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE and Black Voters’ Survival Guide (https://866ourvote.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ElectionProtection_BlackVotersSurvivalGuide_2026.pdf) are here for any and all residents who are experiencing issues at the polls.

Rules and maps may change, but our commitment to voters will not. Together, we will ensure everyone has a say in their futures.

Sixty-one years after the Voting Rights Act became law, many of its hard-won protections are under threat.This Supreme C...
08/07/2026

Sixty-one years after the Voting Rights Act became law, many of its hard-won protections are under threat.

This Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled against voting rights, making it harder for communities of color to challenge discrimination and protect access to the ballot.

As we mark this anniversary and look ahead to the upcoming elections, we remain committed to defending the Voting Rights Act, protecting fair representation, and ensuring every eligible voter can cast a ballot that counts.

Read our recent statement on the Supreme Court’s continued assault on voting rights - https://tinyurl.com/555tujbc

In a painful irony of history, Black Tennesseans are voting today under a new congressional map that dilutes their polit...
08/06/2026

In a painful irony of history, Black Tennesseans are voting today under a new congressional map that dilutes their political power—as we mark the 61st anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.

Black communities won the Voting Rights Act through tireless organizing, marching, and bloodshed, determined to claim their right of self-determination. That same defiance is on display in Tennessee: voters are arriving informed and ready to exercise their power, despite attempts to take it from them.

Black voters will not be erased by a map, and the Lawyers’ Committee is not backing down. We are in court challenging Tennessee’s discriminatory maps, we are convening the Election Protection Coalition, and we are standing with every community targeted by this new wave of voter suppression.

To Black voters in Tennessee: be prepared, make a plan to vote. We urge voters to read the Black Voters’ Survival Guide (https://tinyurl.com/bd58atc6) and call the nonpartisan Election Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE if they experience any issues at the polls. Black voters cannot be erased by a map, and together, we will continue to fight until every voter has an equal opportunity to participate in our democracy.

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