Founded in 1940, as a separate entity from the NAACP, the NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund, (NAACP LDF) is considered the leader in fighting racial injustice. They’re one of my favorite resistance groups because they seem to be involved in so many court cases and actions. They are always a part of my Giving Tuesday donations in December.
They focus their work in four broad areas:
What We Do
Working in the four key areas of Criminal Justice, Economic Justice, Education, and Political Participation, LDF seeks to:
- Diminish the role of race in the criminal justice system and the role of the criminal justice system in community life;
- Increase fairness and African-American participation in all aspects of economic life;
- Increase equity in education and eliminate tolerance for schools that fail students; and
- Achieve full African-American civic engagement and participation in the democratic process.
http://www.naacpldf.org
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They’re probably best known for their work in Brown v Board of Education, and representing Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. But, of course, there are more cases as well that highlight their incredible work. en.wikipedia.org/...
- 1947: Patton v. Mississippi, ruled against strategies that excluded African Americans from criminal juries.
- 1958: Cooper v. Aaron barred Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus from interfering with the desegregation of Little Rock's Central High School
- 1962 Meredith v. Fair, won James Meredith admission to the University of Mississippi.
- 1963: Watson v. City of Memphis, ruled segregation of public parks unconstitutional.
- 1969: Sniadach v. Family Finance Corp., required due process for the garnishment of wages.
- 1969: Allen v. State Board of Elections, guaranteed the right to a write-in vote.
- 1970: Ali v. The Division of State Athletic Commission, restored Muhammad Ali's boxing license.
- 1973: Adams v. Richardson, required federal education officials to enforce Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which requires that state universities, public schools, and other institutions that receive federal money may not discriminate by race.
- 1973: Mourning v. Family Publication Service, upheld the Truth in lending Act, requiring disclosure of the actual cost of a loan.
- 1982: Bob Jones University v. U.S. and Goldboro Christian Schools v. U.S., denied tax exempt status to religious schools that discriminate on the basis of race.
- 1993: Haynes v. Shoney's: A record court-approved settlement in an employment discrimination case. Shoney's Restaurants agreed to pay African-American employees $105 million and to implement aggressive equal employment opportunity measures.
- 2000: Smith v. United States, was resolved when President Clinton commuted the sentence of Kemba Smith. Smith was a young African-American mother whose abusive, domineering boyfriend led her to play a peripheral role (she did not sell drugs but was aware of the selling) in a conspiracy to obtain and distribute crack cocaine. She had been sentenced to a mandatory minimum of 24½ years in prison even though she was a first-time offender.
- 2017: Buck v. Davis, the Supreme Court reversed the death sentence of Mr. Duane Buck because Mr. Buck's trial attorney introduced evidence that suggested Mr. Buck was more likely to commit violent acts in the future because he is black. LDF presented oral argument and represented Mr. Buck in the Supreme Court.[17]
Consistent with the belief that when you protect the rights of minorities, you protect the rights of ALL people, their work in the above cases shows how all Americans are helped by rulings to protect vulnerable populations.
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As their website describes, they do a lot more than just file lawsuits:
LDF works both through the courts and through advocacy to the executive and legislative branches, educational outreach, monitoring of federal and state government activity, coalition building and policy research. Additionally, through its scholarship, fellowship, and internship programs, LDF helps students to attend and graduate from many of the nation’s best colleges, universities, and law schools and to develop a lasting commitment to racial justice and public service.
Here’s a sampling of what’s been on their Twitter feed the past week…
Gerrymandering
Right to Vote
Environmental Justice
Support of & from the Civil Rights Movement & Dr. King
Cultural Discrimination at Work
Race Based School Discipline
Digital Rights
Fair Housing
Criminal Justice Reform and Employment
The organization is led by the incredible, Sherilynn Ifill. You can follow her on Twitter at @Sifill_LDF or the organization itself at @NAACP_LDF and I encourage any Twitter folks to do so. You can then see the incredible amount of work they do everyday. Plus Ms. Ifill’s smile is so joyful, you won’t feel so low about all that’s going on.