COVID-19 Racial Justice Initiative

The COVID-19 global pandemic is having a stark impact on communities across the country. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is focused on ensuring the well-being and security of communities most vulnerable, including African Americans, people of color and low-income communities. We are also focused on bringing a racial justice lens to the issues these communities are facing and are committed to ensuring that core civil and constitutional rights are respected.

The Lawyers’ Committee is using legal advocacy and litigation to help ensure that relief efforts, emergency measures and other actions comply with civil rights laws and constitutional requirements. Our goal is also ensuring that policy responses and actions undertaken by officials do not perpetuate and exacerbate existing bias, racial inequity, and injustice.

We know that all Americans are feeling the impact of this crisis. But people who are already marginalized and who are subject to discrimination will feel the impact more than others. For these communities, COVID-19 exacerbates existing racial injustice and perpetuates economic inequality.

African Americans and other people of color are disproportionately represented among some of the most vulnerable to the pandemic, including people who are incarcerated in our jails and prisons, those who are homeless or who face eviction, low-wage workers, and more.

From Hurricane Katrina to the present day, we know that crises such as pandemics, stand to amplify racial biases that are deeply rooted in our nation’s history. Given this reality, it is critical that we work to ensure responses that will provide equal justice and equal opportunity for all.

Policy Responses

April 24, 2020: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Responds to CDC’s Preliminary Release of COVID-19 Race Data
April 22, 2020: Historic Coalition of Women’s and Civil Rights Groups File Amicus Brief to Stop COVID-19 Order that Intends to Ban and Criminalize Abortion
April 10, 2020: Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Responds to White House Meeting for Black Leaders on COVID-19
April 7, 2020: Broad Coalition of Civil Rights Groups Oppose the Department of Labor’s National Interest Exemption Suspending Critical Affirmative Action Regulations for Federal Contractors Responding to COVID-19
April 6, 2020: National Civil Rights Group and Hundreds of Medical Professionals Call on the Trump Administration and States to Release Racial Data for COVID-19 Tests, Cases and Outcomes
April 6, 2020: Press Briefing calling for the release of racial and ethnic demographic data related to COVID-19 testing, cases, and patient outcomes.
March 27, 2020: CARES Act Must Prioritize Nation’s Most Vulnerable Communities
March 13, 2020: National Urban League & Lawyers’ Committee Urge Census Bureau to Extend Deadlines In Response to Coronavirus

Voting Rights Amid COVID-19

RESOURCES

State Election Law Overview: The Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights developed this resource that allows users to locate information on each state’s election laws. The ongoing public health emergency has the potential to exacerbate confusion around election procedures, and to increase the burden of restrictive voting requirements. These tables provide a summary of election laws in each state relating to the 2020 election schedule, voter registration, absentee/mail-in balloting, and in-person early voting.

PRESS RELEASES

Letters and Statements

May 6, 2020: Sign-on Letter to Congress to provide robust funding for United States Postal Service
April 22, 2020: Sign-on Letter to Court Officials regarding safeguarding civil and human rights
April 16, 2020: Letter to Congress on priorities for the fourth COVID-19 stimulus bill
April 16, 2020: Joint Statement on COVID-19 Small Business Loans to the Administration requesting removal of restrictions prohibiting people with criminal records from accessing these loans
April 13, 2020: Sign-on Letter to Congress Urging Additional Funding for Voter Assistance in Response to COVID-19
April 7, 2020: Sign-on Letter to the Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance
April 7, 2020: Sign-on Letter to the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission
April 6, 2020: Sign-on Letter to the Department of Health and Human Services on Impact of COVID-19 on Communities of Color
April 6, 2020: Letter to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act requesting public records on COVID-19 racial data
March 20, 2020: Letter to Congress on Help for Student Loan Borrowers Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
March 16, 2020: Sign-on Letter to Elected Officials to Act Now to Protect Democracy and Public Health

Press Releases & Briefings

Press Releases

Press Briefings

May 11, 2020: Press Briefing on election-related litigation amid COVID-19
April 6, 2020: Press Briefing calling for release of racial data

In the News

May 14, 2020: Consumer Reports – New Privacy Bills Aim to Protect Health Data During the Pandemic
May 13, 2020: Who What Why – Activists Vow to Protect USPS as States Expand Mail-In Voting
May 12, 2020: U.S. News – Access Denied? Coronavirus Complicates Voter Access
May 12, 2020: Neiman Report – Without a Campaign to Cover, Reporters Shift to Covering the Voting Process Itself
May 11, 2020: Courthouse News Service – Pandemic Prompts Questions About 2020 Presidential Election
May 11, 2020: Philadelphia Inquirer – Civil rights groups seek to block Judicial Watch lawsuit and avoid a purge of Pennsylvania voter rolls
May 11, 2020: Common Dreams – Rights Groups Work to Stop ‘Unnecessary and Potentially Disenfranchising Purges’ of Voter Rolls in Pennsylvania
May 8, 2020: Pro Publica – Early Data Shows Black People Are Being Disproportionally Arrested for Social Distancing Violations
May 6, 2020: AFT – COVID pandemic raises concerns about accurate 2020 census count
May 5, 2020: Tennessee Star – Groups Sue to Expand Absentee Voting in Tennessee
May 5, 2020: Washington Post – What’s holding up voting by mail?
May 4, 2020: The Fulcrum – Fresh lawsuits challenge vote-by-mail limits in four Southern states
May 4, 2020: USA Today – USA TODAY/Suffolk Poll: Americans overwhelmingly support vote-by-mail push, but Republicans more wary
May 1, 2020: Associated Press – Groups sue to expand absentee voting in Tennessee amid virus
April 30, 2020: The Daily Record/Columbia Dispatch – After a problem-plagued primary, Ohio leaders disagree about November election plan
April 29, 2020: Union of Concerned Scientists blog – The Crisis Within the Crisis: COVID-19 Is Ravaging African Americans
April 29, 2020: Associated Press – Joe Biden wins Ohio’s mail-in primary delayed by coronavirus
April 29, 2020: Voting Booth – The Ohio primary just raised a new red flag for the 2020 election
April 29, 2020: Frederick News-Post – Health disparities magnified by the coronavirus pandemic
April 28 2020: Reuters – Democrat Mfume retakes Maryland congressional seat in special election
April 28, 2020: Charleston Chronicle – With Over 50,000 Dead, Civil Rights Leaders Urge African Americans to Remain at Home
April 27, 2020: Marijuana Moment – Civil Rights And Racial Justice Groups Ask Congress To Let Marijuana Industry Access COVID Funds
April 25: CNN – Civil rights and religious leaders urge African Americans to defy governors’ efforts to reopen businesses
April 24, 2020: National Geographic – African Americans struggle with disproportionate COVID death toll
April 23, 2020: Law 360 – Texas Trial Judges Can’t Fight Governor’s COVID-19 Bail Order
April 22, 2020: Talking Points Memo – Vote-By-Mail, Critical In Pandemic, Poses Risks For Voters Of Color
April 22, 2020: Miami Times/AP – Black deaths from coronavirus rise nationwide
April 21, 2020: Business Insider – The White House appears to have silenced the surgeon general for his remarks on racial disparities in the coronavirus outbreak, as data shows black communities are hardest hit
April 21, 2020: STAT – STAT Morning Roundup – Covid-19 and racial disparities: Still waiting for a federal response
April 21, 2020: Becker’s Hospital Review – $450B relief package held up over testing; White House may suspend immigration – 6 COVID-19 updates
April 21, 2020: Med Page – COVID-19 Update
April 21, 2020: Facing South – The GOP fight against voting by mail
April 20, 2020: Politico – Black doctors blast ‘woefully anemic’ data on minority coronavirus cases
April 20, 2002: Law Street – North Carolina Lawsuit Cites COVID-19 To Stop Touch-Screen Voting
April 19, 2020: NY Daily News – Coronavirus hitting African-Americans disproportionately hard
April 18, 2020: Associated Press – Racial toll of virus grows even starker as more data emerges
April 17, 2020: The Fulcrum – Millions can’t register to vote without violating stay-at-home curbs
April 17, 2020: Orlando Sentinel – Coronavirus could cost Florida millions in federal funding, and maybe a seat in Congress, if U.S. Census suffers undercount
April 16, 2020: Amsterdam News – Doctors, elected officials advise New Yorkers how to deal with COVID-19 crisis
April 16, 2020: Los Angeles Sentinel – Black Communities Deserve Health Equity During COVID Crisis
April 16, 2020: Washington Post – The Cybersecurity 202: Democrats accuse Trump administration of voter suppression in mail ballot fight
April 16, 2020: Raleigh News & Observer – Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on April 16
April 16, 2020: Charlotte Observer – Suit claims Mecklenburg voting machines could leave voters vulnerable to COVID-19
April 15, 2020: Associated Press – North Carolina lawsuit cites virus to stop touch-screen voting
April 15, 2020: Courthouse News Service – NAACP Sues North Carolina Over New Voting Machines
April 15, 2020: Election Law Blog – Lawsuit Filed Against Use of New Voting Machines in North Carolina
April 15, 2020: North Carolina Policy Watch – Voting rights advocates sue over ExpressVote machines; want hand-marked paper ballots for upcoming election
April 15, 2020: The Hill – Voting rights advocates file lawsuit over allegedly insecure North Carolina voting machines
April 15, 2020: The Fulcrum – New N.C. voting machines are secretive and unhealthy, suit alleges
April 14, 2020: Congresswoman Lee: Reps. Lee, Pressley, Kelly, Bass, & Sen. Warren Introduce Legislation to Require Federal Government to Collect & Release COVID-19 Demographic Data Including Race and Ethnicity
April 14, 2020: SHRM – OFCCP’s Coronavirus Exemption Has Supporters and Critics
April 14, 2020: St. Louis American – Parson urged to include MBE in COVID-19 business
April 14, 2020: France24 – Aux États-Unis, les Afro-Américains sont particulièrement touchés par le nouveau coronavirus
April 14, 2020: Kommersant – Какого цвета вирус
April 13, 2020: Black Press USA – Gov. Abbott Unlawfully Exceeded Authority with Executive Order Limiting Jail Releases, Argues New Lawsuit
April 12, 2020: Kansas City Star – Fifty percent of people testing positive for coronavirus in Kansas City are black
April 11, 2020: Colorado Sun – 5 weeks into Colorado’s coronavirus crisis, state health officials begin to request patient demographic details
April 11, 2020: Florida Courier – Another Burden to Bear – data is showing that Blacks are dying at higher rates from COVID-19
April 10, 2020: Daily Beast – Hell-Bent on In-Person Voting, Georgia Delays Election Again
April 10, 2020: Vox – How racism and poverty made Detroit a new coronavirus hot spot
April 10, 2020: Washington Post – 4 reasons coronavirus is hitting black communities so hard
April 9, 2020: Associated Press – Outcry over racial data grows as virus slams black Americans
April 9, 2020: NPR – Racial Disparities In COVID-19 Impact Emerge As Data Is Slowly Released
April 9, 2020: Facing South – Taking the census in a pandemic
April 9, 2020: Blavity – Every St. Louis Resident Who Has Died From COVID-19 Has Been Black
April 9, 2020: Yahoo Lifestyle – Coronavirus is disproportionality affecting black Americans and eliciting calls for more data — here’s what you need to know
April 9, 2020: STAT Reports – Who gets hospitalized for Covid-19? Report shows differences by race and sex
April 9, 2020: The Hill – Pandemic sparks partisan brawl over voting by mail
April 9, 2020: Daily Memphian – West Memphis mayor deserves a long-distance pat on the back
April 9, 2020: New York Amsterdam News – Be prepared: Experts sound the alarm on Black Americans and COVID-19
April 9, 2020: Sina Daily News – 受健康差异与种族主义影响，美国黑人新冠肺炎患者死亡率更高
April 8, 2020: Noticias R7 – Negros sofrem muito mais do que brancos com a pandemia nos EUA
April 8, 2020: Huffington Post – Black People Are Dying Of COVID-19 At Alarming Rates. Here’s Why.
April 8, 2020: Arizona Republic – Why is COVID-19 killing so many black Americans? Because they are poor
April 8, 2020: Bloomberg Law – Worker Groups Oppose DOL’s Pass for Virus-Relief Contractors
April 8, 2020: Connecticut Mirror – Concern grows that COVID-19 disproportionately impacts minorities, but the data is incomplete
April 8, 2020: Vox – Covid-19 is disproportionately taking black lives
April 8, 2020: Charlestown Chronicle – Civil Rights Lawyers Demand State Numbers with ‘All Deliberate Speed’ as African-Americans Die Disparately from COVID19
April 8, 2020: Courthouse News Service – Judges Sue Texas Governor Over Limits on Inmate Releases During Outbreak
April 8, 2020: San Antonio Current – ACLU and Texas Judges Sue Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for Limiting Jail Release During Pandemic
April 8, 2020: Detroit News – Pandemic forces America to confront black health disparities
April 8, 2020: UPI – African Americans disproportionately affected by COVID-19
April 7, 2020: USA Today – Black people dying from coronavirus at much higher rates in cities across the USA
April 7, 2020: Vox – How Wisconsin’s election disenfranchised voters
April 7, 2020: Detroit Free Press – Important data is missing from 2 areas hit hardest by coronavirus in Michigan, experts say
April 7, 2020: Black Enterprise – Lawyers and medical professionals demand the government release racial data for covid-19 cases
April 7, 2020: Kansas City Star – In Kansas City, coronavirus is hitting black residents in the Third District hardest
April 7, 2020: ABC News – 7 On Your Side Investigates coronavirus and race; Check your zip code
April 7, 2020: Los Angeles Times – Black Americans face higher rates of coronavirus deaths
April 7, 2020: The Hill – Black, Latino communities suffer ing disproportionately from coronavirus, statistics show
April 7, 2020: BuzzFeed News – Doctors Want The Government To Give More Racial Data About Who Is Dying And Sick From The Coronavirus
April 7, 2020: WBUR – Pressley Wants Race-Specific Coronavirus Data Requirement In Next Relief Bill
April 7, 2020: Common Dreams –‘One of the Most Brazen Acts of Voter Suppression in Modern Times’ as US Supreme Court Blocks Absentee Ballot Extension in Wisconsin
April 7, 2020: KTVU-TV – Rep. Barbara Lee, civil rights attorneys want demographic data on who is getting sick from coronavirus
April 7, 2020: KTVU-TV – Data: More men die of COVID-19 than women
April 7, 2020: Democracy Now – Gov’t Called to Release Data on Racial Makeup of COVID-19 Deaths as Black People Suffer Greatest Impact
April 7, 2020: WNYC/Gothamist – City Promises Greater Transparency On Coronavirus Demographic Data After Months Of “Flying Blind”
April 7, 2020: Washington Informer – Maryland Coronavirus Data Will Include Breakdown by Race, Ethnicity, Governor Says
April 7, 2020: ARA (Catalonia) – El coronavirus castiga més els afroamericans als EUA
April 6, 2020: Associated Press – Rate of deaths, illness among black residents alarms cities
April 6, 2020: Reuters – African Americans more likely to die from coronavirus illness, early data shows
April 6, 2020: CNN – Coronavirus hitting some African American communities extremely hard
April 6, 2020: NBC News – Civil rights group, medical professionals demand federal racial data on coronavirus victims
April 6, 2020: Washington Post – Government urged to release race, ethnicity data on covid-19 cases
April 6, 2020: BuzzFeed – Doctors Want the Government to Give More Racial Data About Who is Dying and Sick from the Coronavirus
April 6, 2020: – STAT Report – “We’re flying blind: African Americans may be bearing the brunt of Covid-19, but access to data is limited
April 6, 2020: The Hill – 400 health professionals press HHS on minority access to coronavirus tests
April 6, 2020: Miami Herald – African Americans die from coronavirus at disproportionate rate, reports say
April 6, 2020: New York Daily News – Demands for racial, demographic data on coronavirus grows amidst evidence black people harder hit
April 6, 2020: Statehouse News Service (Massachusetts) – Bay State Coronavirus Tracker Monday AM Update
April 6, 2020: Roland Martin – African-Americans are affected at a higher rate than other races during COVID-19 pandemic
April 3, 2020: The Hill – Democrats fear coronavirus impact on November turnout
April 2, 2020: Top Class Actions – Voting Groups Say Ohio Coronavirus Law Is Unfair
March 31, 2020: Cleveland.com – Voting rights groups sue over Ohio primary election’s ‘new’ April 28 date, seeking in-person voting
March 29, 2020: NBC News – Coronavirus cripples voter registration efforts. Millions could be denied.
March 26, 2020: NBC News – Coronavirus ‘worst-case scenario’: Could the presidential vote be done by mail?
March 26, 2020: BuzzFeed News – 5 Ways To Protect Our Election During The Coronavirus Pandemic, According To A New Bipartisan Election Emergency Task Force
March 24, 2020: NPR – As Coronavirus Delays Primary Season, States Weigh Expanding Absentee Voting
March 20, 2020: Los Angeles Sentinel – Congressional Black Caucus Holds Coronavirus Town Hall Addressing COVID-19’s Impact On Black Americans
March 20, 2020: Washington Post – As coronavirus creates ‘unprecedented obstacles’ to voting, Kentucky GOP takes step to add another: voter ID
March 19, 2020: Miami Herald – South Florida has one last day to vote early in the Florida presidential primaries
March 18, 2020: The Nation – ‘Today, the United States of America Failed to Live Up to Our Democratic Ideals’
March 17, 2020: Cronkite News – Despite COVID-19, poll officials report steady turnout, smooth voting
March 17, 2020: Herald & Review – Legal hotline for voters available; lawmakers’ return to Springfield uncertain
March 17, 2020: The Fulcrum – Coronavirus chaos at the polls as primaries proceed in 3 of 4 states
March 15, 2020: Washington Post – Intensifying coronavirus fears rattle voters and elections officials in advance of Tuesday primaries
March 14, 2020: Washington Post – Georgia becomes second state to delay presidential primary over coronavirus pandemic
March 11, 2020: Reuters – Coronavirus Fears Spark Cancellations of U.S. Election Rallies
March 11, 2020: Washington Post – Elections officials scramble for options as coronavirus worries mount
March 10, 2020: Florida Times-Union – Florida’s presidential primary voting unaffected by coronavirus, for now

Resources

FACTSHEETS:

Lawyers’ Committee – Census and COVID-19

AUDIO RECORDINGS:

Lawyers’ Committee – May 11, 2020: Press Briefing on election-related litigation amid COVID-19
Lawyers’ Committee – April 20, 2020: Press Briefing calling for release of more comprehensive racial and ethnic data of those impacted by COVID-19
Lawyers’ Committee – April 6, 2020: Press Briefing calling for release of racial data of those impacted by COVID-19

VOTING:

Lawyers’ Committee – State Election Law Overview, developed by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, allows users to locate information on each state’s election laws, including the 2020 election schedule, voter registration, absentee/mail-in balloting, and in-person early voting.
National Task Force on Elections – COVID-19 Election Guide
Vote.org – State by State – Voting & COVID-19
Demos Policy Brief – How to Build a Racially Inclusive Democracy During COVID-19 and Beyond
How to Vote By Mail or Absentee in all 50 States

CDC DATA:

Provisional Death Counts for Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): Weekly State-Specific Data Updates by Select Demographic and Geographic Characteristics