Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
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| Founded | 1963 |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonpartisan |
| Focus | Civil rights and voting rights |
| Location | |
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Area served
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United States |
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Members
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220 |
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Key people
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Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director |
| Slogan | A nonpartisan, nonprofit legal organization formed at the request of President Kennedy in 1963 |
| Website | www |
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law, or simply The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights or Lawyers' Committee, is a civil rights organization founded in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy.
During a June 21, 1963, meeting at the White House, in the midst of the American civil rights movement, President John F. Kennedy suggested the formation of a group of lawyers to counter and reduce racial tensions by way of volunteer citizen actions. On July 10, the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law was publicly announced. The first co-chairs of the Committee were two well-known figures in the civil rights and legal fields, Bernard Segal and Harrison Tweed. Over a hundred lawyers volunteered to serve in the organization, with both white and black attorneys being represented. Membership also included five past presidents of the American Bar Association and four members of its board, as well as twelve current presidents of state bar associations, and officials from the NAACP and its legal defense fund. On August 9, 1963, the group officially registered as a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C. Its first executive director, David Stahl, was named in December 1963.
The group's first goal was to counter legal efforts to preserve segregation in Mississippi. The Mississippi office of the organization opened on June 14, 1965, with a mission of getting the bar to take on the professional responsibility for leading the American civil rights movement and providing legal services where they would otherwise be unavailable.
In 1967 and 1968, the Committee began providing assistance for human and civil rights problems in South Africa, litigating on behalf of the anti-apartheid movement and the Congressional Black Caucus within the United States. The Southern Africa Project continued for more than 30 years, up through the liberation of Namibia and the end of apartheid in South Africa with free and open elections in 1994.
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