Rights and Reversals: The Shifting Course of DOJ’s Federal Civil Rights Enforcement
“Rights and Reversals: The Shifting Course of DOJ’s Federal Civil Rights Enforcement” details the history of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, the importance of having strong leadership at the division, and the recent whiplash in federal civil rights enforcement. Since The Leadership Conference’s founding 75 years ago, we’ve coordinated the advocacy efforts on behalf of every major civil rights law since the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which created the Civil Rights Division and authorized the position of assistant attorney general for civil rights. This brief offers our perspective on the kind of leadership needed to ensure the division is working to protect the rights of all of us.