Maryland HBCU Win
11-9-17: Washington Post: Courts side with Maryland HBCUs in long-standing case over disparities in state higher education
The remedial order issued by the court is truly historic and places Maryland on a long overdue path to achieving racial desegregation and more equitable outcomes for students,” said Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a party to the case. “Our historically black colleges and universities play a critical role in the educational landscape of our country, and with proper support and funding from the state, they can attract racially diverse pools of students.”
11-12-17: News One: Maryland HBCUs Win Investment Inequality Dispute With State
A federal court told Maryland to correct its public higher education investment disparity between four historically Black colleges and universities and other state institutions, the Washington Post reported.
Kristen Clarke, the president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a party to the case, called the decision a “historic remedial order…that will strengthen” Maryland’s HBCUs. She added that the ruling will achieve overdue racial desegregation and “equitable outcomes for students,” The Post reported.
11-8-17: Baltimore Sun: Instant admission: Historically black colleges go to Baltimore County schools seeking prospects
“We’re being patient,” said Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, which is behind the lawsuit. “We are on standby.”
11-10-17: The Intercept: As The Education Department Strips Away Civil Rights Protections, New Coalition Aims To Fight For Students
ECRA is comprised of national legal and education groups, including the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Disability Rights Network, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Election Integrity Commission
11-10-17: CBS News: Voter fraud panel sued by one of its own members
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law also is suing, alleges the commission is violating federal open meetings and disclosure laws. Kristen Clarke, the group’s president, said Dunlap’s lawsuit shows how chaotic and dysfunctional the commission has been.
“That its own members are in the dark about the way that the Commission operates and deliberates makes clear that this Commission is no more than a tool to advance this administration’s voter suppression agenda,” Clarke said in a statement.
11-10-17: Newsweek: Trump Voter Fraud Panel Sued By One Of Its Own Members Because He Doesn’t Know What It’s Doing
Kristen Clarke, president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which has also filed court challenges to PACEI, said that with even panel members “in the dark about the way that the Commission operates and deliberates,” it is clear that the commission “is no more than a tool to advance this administration’s voter suppression agenda.”
11-9-17: Associated Press: Trump voter fraud commission faces lawsuit from member
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law also is suing, alleges the commission is violating federal open meetings and disclosure laws. Kristen Clarke, the group’s president, said Dunlap’s lawsuit shows how chaotic and dysfunctional the commission has been.
“That its own members are in the dark about the way that the Commission operates and deliberates makes clear that this Commission is no more than a tool to advance this administration’s voter suppression agenda,” Clarke said in a statement.
KSU Anthem Controversy
11-8-17: The News Tribune: University: Cheerleaders who knelt for anthem to be on field
“I think these are turbulent times in our country and marginalized communities are looking for ways to speak up and resist some of the injustice we face,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The group had asked the state’s board of regents to investigate how Kennesaw State handled the situation.
Clarke said Wednesday’s statement “makes clear that the school got it wrong” but added that the university is now respecting the First Amendment rights of its students and she considers that a positive development.
11-8-17: Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Olens backtracks; KSU to let cheerleaders kneel on field during anthem
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which had been pressuring the Board of Regents in support of the cheerleaders, said Olens’ announcement was a victory for free-speech rights. Some longtime KSU supporters, such as Bob Best, said while the First Amendment grants cheerleaders the right to kneel, it is also the rights of residents “not go to the games and to withhold any contributions to the university.”
Craighead County Private Probation Amicus
11-9-17: Arkansas Online: Bar intervenor from suit, probation company suing Arkansas judges asks
“This case is about the fees owed under contract to The Justice Network and how the ‘Amnesty Program’ instituted by judges [David] Boling and [Tommy] Fowler interfered with the rights of The Justice Network to collect those fees,” attorney John Edwards said Tuesday evening in a written response to an “amicus curiae,” or friend-of-the-court, brief recently filed by The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
Upon hearing about the suit, the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a national civil-rights organization formed in 1963, sought to file an amicus brief on behalf of the district judges. Edwards didn’t object.
The committee contends that the Craighead County dispute is part of a larger issue that is popping up across the country, and that is represented in a lawsuit the committee filed in August 2016 along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas in the Little Rock Division of the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Election Results
11-9-17: Newsone: Evidence Of Voter Suppression On Election Day Raises Concerns For 2018
Kristen Clarke, executive director of the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, tweeted about a report of someone who appeared to be a police officer telling Latino voters in Virginia who to vote for.
11-8-17: Washington Post: From Charlotte’s first female black mayor to a $10 million state Senate race: Here are all the Election Day firsts
First black mayor of Statesboro, Ga.: Jonathan McCollar
First black mayor of Cairo, Ga.: Booker Gainor
First black mayor of Milledgeville, Ga.: Mary Parham-Copelan
First black mayor of Georgetown, S.C.: Brendon Barber
First black mayor of Helena, Mont.: Wilmot Collins
First black mayor of St. Paul, Minn.: Melvin Carter
(Many of the mayoral stats are courtesy of Kristen Clarke, the director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.)
11-8-17: Bustle.com: How Many Black Mayors Are There In The U.S.? Election Night 2018 Ushered In Eight More
Drawing attention to the cumulative victories on Twitter was Kristen Clarke, of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “African Americans were elected mayor for 1st time:” she wrote Tuesday evening, going on to compile a list of some mayor-elects who had been elected their city’s first black mayor that night. This victory in cities that had, until now, only been represented by non-black mayors is emblematic of the all-out progressive sweep Tuesday evening, particularly in Virginia and New Jersey.
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