Press Release

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled to uphold protections for LGBTQ workers under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964:

On Monday, June 15 at 3 PM, advocates for health care, civil rights, and equal justice will hold a massive digital rally to engage activists in opposition to judicial nominees Justin Walker and Cory Wilson in anticipation of their upcoming Senate confirmation votes. Confirmed speakers include Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), as well as a multitude of activist and organizational leaders. Participants will be encouraged throughout the event to call their senators to speak out against these nominees.

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, submitted written testimony today to the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice highlighting the need for transformative reform of policing at both the federal and state levels. The U.S. Department of Justice had invited civil rights groups to a forum in a last-ditch effort to legitimize the Commission, but the groups have cited the department’s failure to address the pandemic and offered policy solutions to respond to the fatal police shootings in recent weeks.

WASHINGTON – Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ final rule on the non-discrimination protections (Section 1557) of the Affordable Care Act.

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference Education Fund has announced the hire of Kiren Marshall as national communications strategist for the voting rights program.

WASHINGTON – Lena Zwarensteyn, Fair Courts Campaign director at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote to advance the nomination of Cory Wilson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit:

WASHINGTON – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, New America's Open Technology Institute, and 83 civil rights, civil liberties, labor, and consumer protection organizations today released principles to guide employers, policymakers, businesses, and public health authorities as they consider strategies to reopen American society and deploy information technologies designed specifically to monitor, track, or trace individuals in order to mitigate or respond to the COVID-19 public health crisis. The groups note the need to protect the civil rights and privacy of all persons, especially communities of color and other populations who are at high risk for the virus, when considering the deployment of technological measures.

WASHINGTON – In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, called on lawmakers to adopt important policy solutions that promote police accountability and respect the dignity of all people. Prior to The Leadership Conference, Gupta led the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, where she oversaw efforts to address systemic constitutional violations by law enforcement agencies through pattern or practice investigations and the enforcement of consent decrees.