Covid-19

WASHINGTON – A united civil rights community urged Congress to ensure that our nation emerges after the COVID-19 pandemic as a more equitable, healthy, and just society. In the first comprehensive letter to lawmakers on the COVID-19 crisis from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, leading activists noted the spotlight that COVID-19 is shining on America’s longstanding institutional racism and systemic inequality. To build a stronger America, members of Congress must craft laws to protect public health more effectively, preserve and strengthen our public institutions, and ensure that our eventual economic recovery works for everyone.

WASHINGTON – Lynda Garcia, policing campaign director of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on discriminatory policing practices during COVID-19:

WASHINGTON –On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Fair Courts Task Force, 42 groups outlined four principles for federal, state, and local courts to protect our civil and human rights and provide justice for all during this public health crisis. The principles were outlined in a letter to the Judicial Conference of the United States, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC), and the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on President Trump’s supposed Executive Order to “temporarily suspend immigration into the United States:”

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, along with 111 organizations called on Congress to enact policies, and provide sufficient funding, to meet the urgent needs of the most vulnerable people in our nation. Failing to do so risks more lives lost and a future where the American promise is even more elusive for marginalized communities.

CLEVELAND - Voting rights advocates urged Ohio election officials to improve the state’s flawed vote by mail system to ensure fair and safe 2020 elections -- particularly in light of Ohio’s upcoming election on April 28th which will be conducted almost entirely by mail, due to COVID-19 concerns. In today’s telephone press briefing, advocates from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, All Voting is Local, and local voting rights organizations warned that voters may be disenfranchised unless Ohio lawmakers and election officials act now for future elections.

CLEVELAND - On Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 2:30 p.m. EDT, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and All Voting is Local will host a telephone press briefing with Ohio voting rights organizations to discuss the voter advocacy work taking place in advance of the state’s rescheduled primary election. The conversation will also cover what Ohio’s election officials need to do to ensure that all voters are heard through the ballot, now and in November. Ohio’s election was moved from March 17 to April 28 over concerns about COVID-19. The election will also now be held almost entirely by mail.

WASHINGTON – In an op-ed published in the New York Daily News, Vanita Gupta, Roy L. Austin, Jr., and Miriam Aroni Krinsky underscore how misguided half-measures from President Trump and Attorney General William Barr are potentially condemning to death thousands of people in America who are at grave risk from COVID-19 in federal prisons. The authors call for the president to take executive action and remove vulnerable individuals who live and work in federal prisons from harm’s way.