NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.

Affirmative action has been a vital tool in advancing equal opportunity in higher education. But it was dealt a devastating blow in the Supreme Court’s ruling that Harvard and the UNC's race-conscious admissions policies are unconstitutional on this day in 2023. The success of our multiracial democracy relies upon pathways to professional achievement that are open to all. That's why LDF is still fighting to remove and remediate barriers to opportunity. Our FAQ and new Equal Protection Initiative dive deeper into the decision and how we can increase access to equal opportunities in education and the workplace. https://lnkd.in/ePENG4gc

On June 12, 2024, LDF filed a brief in its ongoing St. John the Baptist Parish school desegregation case in Louisiana seeking to close Fifth Ward Elementary and relocate its students to more environmentally safer facilities at La Place Elementary School. For the safety and health of all students who attend Fifth Ward Elementary, it is paramount that they be relocated and that the school be closed immediately. https://lnkd.in/eZraetZ9

On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Rebellion sparked a movement. Pride is a celebration of LGBTQ+ communities and history, but its roots also lie in a history of Black and Brown trans and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people’s advocacy against police violence, like the Stonewall riots of 1969. Many of Stonewall’s leaders were Black and Latina, including Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, and Zazu Nova – trans women who had prominent roles during the protests. Unfortunately, following these protests, these very same activists who made strides for their peers were ostracized by certain white, cisgender members of the community, exacerbating the exclusion and, therefore, violence against LGBTQ+ people of color. https://lnkd.in/grdhmA5T

Today, the Supreme Court has ruled that it prematurely granted a review of Moyle v. United States and United States v. Idaho, a case involving whether an Idaho law trumps the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act’s (EMTALA) long-standing requirements to provide critical abortion care to patients suffering emergency pregnancy complications. Since the Dobbs decision, Idaho has enacted one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country. While the Court’s decision today means that pregnant people in Idaho have the federal protections outlined in EMTALA, it does not apply to other states nor addresses the irreparable harm caused by the 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson. https://lnkd.in/giPH76dG

On the very first Juneteenth celebration, Black leaders shared information about their community's newly acquired voting rights. KAL@ spoke with LDF Asst. Counsel Antonio Ingram and other civil rights activists about how this legacy inspires their work.

Same-sex marriage was federally legalized in the SCOTUS case Obergefell v. Hodges on this day in 2015. LDF's amicus brief and argument that LGBTQ+ couples have a constitutional right to equal protection under the law were central to the Court's ultimate decision. While much progress has been made, we all must work together to fight ongoing attacks and discrimination against queer communities.

11 years ago, SCOTUS disabled essential protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in its Shelby County v. Holder decision. The Court ruled the VRA’s Section 4 was unconstitutional, which included the coverage formula used to determine which jurisdictions were subject to preclearance. The decision opened the door for the implementation of suppressive voting laws and racial gerrymandering tactics that have severely harmed Black voter power. Since then, LDF has fought to confront all aspects of voting rights incursions to ensure Black voters can exercise their political power. https://lnkd.in/gkmA8bna

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The decision left the regulation of abortion to states, ushering in a new wave of anti-abortion bans across the country. Although many states have restricted abortion, others continue to allow abortion and have even passed laws protecting reproductive rights and enshrining the right to abortion care in their state constitution. Despite the decision, LDF and groups across the country are working to protect abortion and reproductive access, particularly for women of color. https://lnkd.in/gt3ymB72

Title IX was enacted, prohibiting federally funded educational institutions from discriminating against students or employees based on sex, on this day in 1972. Some key issue areas in which federally funded educational institutions have Title IX obligations are: recruitment, admissions, and counseling; financial assistance; athletics; sex-based harassment, which encompasses sexual assault; treatment of pregnant and parenting students; treatment of LGBTQI+ students; discipline; single-sex education; and employment. Today, LDF uses Title IX to defend clients experiencing hostile environments because of their identity.

LGBTQ+ students face pervasive discrimination, harassment, bullying, and violence, depriving them of equal educational opportunities in public schools across the country. Federal statutory protections currently address discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, and disability, but statutory protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity are limited. In 2015, LDF joined nearly 100 advocacy organizations supporting the Student Non-Discrimination Act, an Every Child Achieves Act amendment that would help protect LGBTQ+ students from harassment and bullying. 9 years later, we are still fighting to protect queer youth. More on our work: https://lnkd.in/efJWPGGn