The Leadership Conference Thanks President Biden for Service and Commitment to Civil Rights
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick McNeil, [email protected]
WASHINGTON — Maya Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, released the following statement thanking President Biden for his decades of public service and for his commitment to civil rights:
“The Leadership Conference is grateful to President Biden. He has been an ally to the civil rights community and a friend to our coalition, and we thank him for his dedication to communities, to the nation, and to our democracy.
“During his inaugural address, President Biden stated that ‘A cry for racial justice some 400 years in the making moves us. The dream of justice for all will be deferred no longer.’ He also said that overcoming the challenges we face today requires more than words. Under President Biden’s leadership, this administration has been taking necessary action to build an America that lives up to its ideals as a nation, including by publicly centering equity in its work. The administration’s executive orders outlining a whole-of-government initiative to advance racial equity have been groundbreaking, as are the executive orders promoting access to voting, increasing AI safeguards, and advancing effective and accountable policing. We are thankful for this work and for the president’s leadership and significant efforts to cancel student debt, make health care more affordable, protect reproductive freedom, advance LGBTQ rights, and so much more.
“Across agencies, the administration has been in the business of enforcing the nation’s federal civil rights laws, and it has used the federal regulatory process to finalize critical regulations and guidance to advance important civil rights protections — including on issues related to fair housing, protecting students from harassment and discrimination based on who they are, providing fair access to affordable health care, making sure we have the data to know whether or not we are meeting the needs of all our people across race and ethnicity, ensuring workers get paid for all their hours of work including overtime, and more. President Biden has appointed tremendous leaders across the federal government, including The Leadership Conference’s former president and CEO, who have worked to uphold the federal government’s longstanding and ongoing commitment to defend the rights of all people.
“We also thank the president for signing important civil rights and democracy legislation, including the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the Respect for Marriage Act, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, and the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, which contains the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act. In addition, the broadband provisions of the bipartisan infrastructure law he signed have helped to fund critically needed broadband access for communities across the nation.
“One of President Biden’s most enduring legacies will be his judicial appointments. To date he has appointed more than 200 lifetime federal judges, and many have been supported by civil rights organizations for being highly qualified, fair-minded, demographically and professionally diverse, and committed to civil and human rights — including Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman and first former public defender to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. These appointments will matter for decades to come.
“At a time when civil rights are under attack from extremists who seek to turn back the clock on the critical strides this country has made — and when many people in our nation have good reason to fear the rise of hate, bias, and authoritarianism, in addition to attacks on our right to vote, to be counted, and to be considered qualified and deserving of a seat at the table, a place in the boardroom, and an excellent education — every act of government to protect our civil rights is crucially important. We are grateful that President Biden and his administration have taken this work seriously, and the civil rights community looks forward to continuing this urgent work with President Biden and Vice President Harris in the final six months of this incredibly consequential presidency.”
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 240 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 member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
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