Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Vanita Gupta Appointment to Lead DOJ Civil Rights Division

WASHINGTON — Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the announcement that Vanita Gupta, a longtime civil rights attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the  ACLU, has been appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Justice Department:

“Vanita Gupta is exceptionally well-qualified to be our nation’s top civil rights attorney. She is a consensus builder, a collaborator, and a brilliant lawyer. Her work on criminal justice issues—at the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund—has put her in a select group of the civil rights community’s leading legal minds.  She is extremely well-prepared for, and, given the pressing civil rights issues facing our nation, well-matched to the considerable challenges ahead of her.

Millions of Americans rely on the Civil Rights Division to enforce hate crime laws, the Violence Against Women Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the core civil rights statutes that allow all of us to take part in the fullness of American life, including housing, education, and employment.

Molly Moran’s leadership of the Civil Rights Division has been nothing less than stellar. She successfully managed the Department of Justice’s efforts to protect voters of color leading up to the first election held without the protections of the Voting Rights Act, as well as the national response to the tragedies of Ferguson, Missouri.  Her contributions far exceed what one would expect from such a brief tenure. We’re thankful that she will continue to serve at the Justice Department.

We look forward to continuing our work with both Vanita and Molly to ensure that all Americans can live and work free of discrimination.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, 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.