WASHINGTON – The co-chairs of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Census Task Force — Arturo Vargas, CEO of NALEO Educational Fund; John C. Yang, president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC; and Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference — issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Census Bureau’s extension of 2020 Census operations from July 31, 2020 to August 14, 2020:

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, testified today on the multitude of risks that could keep people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, young children, and low-income households from being counted in the upcoming 2020 Census — leading to loss of public funds and political representation for already vulnerable communities for the next 10 years. The hearing, “Reaching Hard-to-Count Communities in the 2020 Census,” was held by the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, will hold a “We Are Democracy” conference on December 5, 2019, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. ET. Key rights leaders, journalists, and legal experts will discuss what is at stake in 2020 for democracy, justice, inclusion, and opportunity.

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, November 20, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Leadership Conference Education Fund, families of Khalid Jabara and Matthew Shepard, and the civil rights community convened to discuss the epidemic of hate in our country and tangible actions for reform. A facilitated discussion led by The Leadership Conference and The Education Fund President and CEO Vanita Gupta commemorated the ten-year anniversary of the passage of the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act and addressed the need to pass the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act.