Civil and Human Rights Coalition Remembers James Nabrit III

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Washington, D.C. – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in remembrance of the work and life of James Nabrit III, a longtime attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund who argued cases on education, voting rights, the death penalty, and served as a legal advisor to peaceful civil rights demonstrators throughout the South:

“James Nabrit III was a brilliant lawyer and trusted advisor whose work on multiple fronts during three decades with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund advanced the cause of civil and human rights for all Americans. When lunch counter sit-ins led to legal action, it was James Nabrit who advanced our rights in the courts.  When marches were suppressed in the streets, it was James Nabrit who defended the right to demonstrate. And after Dr. King wrote his letter from a Birmingham jail, it was James Nabrit III who defended his case in court.

Nabrit’s legal acumen also led to the landmark Supreme Court decision in Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, which made clear that housing segregation was no excuse for school segregation.  His argument in that case solidified the gains made for all students under Brown v. the Board of Education and cemented the legacy of the Nabrit family.

Our nation is a more just place because of James Nabrit III. As my friend Ted Shaw, former director-counsel of the NAACP LDF said, ‘If there were such a thing as civil rights royalty, Jim would be a prince.’” 

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.