Press Release

WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, November 20, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, families of Khalid Jabara and Matthew Shepard, and the civil rights community will come together to foster discussion about the country’s state of hate and tangible actions for reform. Vanita Gupta will facilitate a discussion to commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the passage of the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act and address the need to pass the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act.

WASHINGTON –The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, along with other civil rights groups, today called on President Trump to fire White House advisor Stephen Miller for propagating racist, anti-immigrant sentiments. In their letter, the groups state that white nationalist, anti-immigrant ideology should have no place in government, and “the recent exposure of his [Miller’s] deeply-seated racism provides further proof that he is unfit to serve, and he should immediately leave his post.”

WASHINGTON - In response to the Department of Education’s proposal to limit the scope of the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 56 other civil rights and education groups submitted joint comments stating serious concerns that such a move would “certainly hamper the ability of the department to fulfill its legal obligations and would undermine our shared interest in the best education for every child.”

WASHINGTON – On November 19, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and other civil rights groups will convene at Columbus Circle near Union Station to show solidarity and demand action for victims and survivors of hate crimes throughout the country. An interactive flower mural by artist Nikkolas Smith will invite passersby to participate in a gradual group reveal of a powerful anti-hate message demanding that Congress pass the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act.

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement calling on President Trump to fire White House senior advisor Stephen Miller:

WASHINGTON — The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 150 other civil rights organizations released their policy platform, “Vision for Democracy: Fortifying the Franchise in 2020 and Beyond” today, marking the overwhelming support for comprehensive voting rights reform within the civil rights community. The platform offers concrete policy recommendations to public officials, policy makers, and candidates for the 2020 state and federal elections and proposes a unified vision for ensuring that Americans have a strong, functioning democracy.

WASHINGTON – Lena Zwarensteyn, Fair Courts Campaign Director at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on today’s Senate vote to advance the nomination of Steven Menashi to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit:

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments that pit Comcast (CMCSA), America’s biggest cable provider, against National Association of African American-Owned Media and Entertainment Studios Networks, Inc., and more importantly one of the Nation’s oldest anti-discrimination statutes, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866.