Type of Activity: Project
Grantee: Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Amount: Updated to $350,000 in 2021 — originally approved as $150,000 in 2020
What is the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights?
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights was founded in 1950 by a coalition of civil rights activists. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Leadership Conference advocated for the passage of civil rights legislation in Congress. Their efforts resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
Today, the Leadership Conference is a coalition of over 200 member organizations and continues to coordinate advocacy and lobbying efforts in support of legislation that protects and expands civil and human rights.
Why do we think this project is important?
As the nation faced the realities of the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism, The Leadership Conference remained vigilant in their efforts to develop a shared transition agenda that prioritized civil rights for the 117th Congress and next administration.
The agenda was developed in close collaboration with The Leadership Conference’s eleven issue-based task forces and aimed to align coalition priorities on agenda content. Their task forces are made up of coalition members with expertise in areas such as the census, education, employment, fair courts, fair housing and lending, hate crimes, health care, immigration, justice reform, media and telecommunications, and voting rights. The Leadership Conference collaboratively refined priorities suggested by the task forces into one coherent and consistent document that serves as a resource for policymakers, civil rights advocates, and the general public alike.
How is Democracy Fund Voice supporting Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
In 2020, Democracy Fund Voice approved a grant of $150,000 to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. In 2021 an amendment was approved to increase the amount of the grant by $200,000, for a total of $350,000.