The Leadership Conference
Spotlight on 2012 Humphrey Honoree: Janet Murguía
May 8, 2012 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
On May 16, the civil and human rights community will honor Janet Murguía, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), with its highest honor: the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award. NCLR is the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S.
Spotlight on 2012 Humphrey Honoree: Rep. Barney Frank
May 2, 2012 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
On May 16, the civil and human rights community will honor Rep. Barney Frank, D. Mass., with its highest honor: the Hubert H. Humphrey Civil and Human Rights Award.
GW University to Host William Taylor Papers
April 28, 2011 - Posted by The Leadership Conference
George Washington University has announced that civil rights champion William L. Taylor’s collection of legal papers, speeches, and historical documents will be housed at its Graduate School of Education and Human Development Gelman Library. Taylor died in June 2010.
Civil Rights Book Club: 'Blood Done Sign My Name' by Timothy B. Tyson
March 12, 2010 - Posted by The Leadership Conference
Blood Done Sign My Name" is a well-researched historical account of the 1970 murder of Henry Marrow, a black Vietnam vet, by three White men. It is also an emotionally charged autobiography of author Timothy Tyson as it intertwines Tyson's coming-of-age experiences and commentary with the story of the hate crime that widened the racial chasm in the town of Oxford, North Carolina.Amidst the fear, anger, hate, and confusion of the Jim Crow South, "Blood" tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement from Tyson’s perspective as a Southern White man. Tyson's spirited journey to break the "white veil of silence" as well as to penetrate the social "race line" in Oxford delivers a classic portrait of American history in an unforgettable time.
Today in Civil Rights History: Birth Anniversary of LCCR Founder A. Philip Randolph
April 15, 2009 - Posted by The Leadership Conference
LCCR founders A. Philip Randolph (seated) and Roy Wilkins with Senator Edward Brooke, R. Mass., at a LCCR dinner in the 1970s.
Today is the birth anniversary of civil rights activist and LCCR founder A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979).
Known as one of the greatest Black labor leaders in America, Randolph founded the first African-American-led labor organization chartered by the AFL in 1925 – the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters (BSCP) – to improve the working conditions for porters of the Pullman Company, which was one of the nation's largest employers of Black workers at the time.
It took Randolph 10 years to get BSCP certified as the official representative of the Pullman porters. Two years later, Randolph helped Pullman employees win a collective bargaining agreement with the company that led to pay increases, a shorter work week, and overtime pay.
In addition to his work with BSCP, Randolph led public campaigns to end racial discrimination in the defense industry and called for integration of the military. Threatening a march on Washington of more than 100,000 citizens, Randolph helped convince President Franklin Roosevelt to sign the first federal law promoting equal opportunity, the Fair Employment Act. Issued in 1941, the executive order banned racial discrimination in the defense industry. Randolph's activism was also critical in encouraging President Harry Truman to order an end to segregation in the armed forces in 1948.
Henderson Receives Alexander Award for Work Advancing Civil and Human Rights
December 10, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
The Leadership Conference President and CEO Wade Henderson shaking hands with other guests at the District of Columbia Commission on Human Rights' annual International Human Rights Day program on December 10, 2009.
The Leadership Conference's president and CEO, Wade Henderson, received the Cornelius R. "Neil" Alexander Humanitarian Award today from the District of Columbia Commission on Human Rights and the District of Columbia Office of Human Rights for his commitment to advancing the civil and human rights of all Americans.
"The fact that this award commemorates Neil Alexander means a great deal to me. As the human rights commission's chief hearing officer for 20 years, Neil Alexander was a tireless and largely unsung champion of civil and human rights. Our city and the struggle for equal justice benefitted immensely from his legal expertise and his leadership in enforcing the District's human rights law," Henderson said in his acceptance speech.
Civil Rights Book Club: Philip Hoose's 'Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice'
December 11, 2009 - Posted by Tyler Lewis
Civil Rights Book Club: 'Random Family' by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
November 20, 2009 - Posted by The Leadership Conference
"Random Family: Love, Drugs, Trouble, and Coming of Age in the Bronx" is an honest, heartfelt, and deeply moving story that follows the lives of an extended family. Adrian Nicole LeBlanc conducted extensive research and interviews with Lourdes, her daughter Jessica, daughter-in-law Coco, and all of their boyfriends and children over a 10-year period.
LeBlanc allows the family members to tell their stories as they see and live them, and in the process, pushes past statistics to put real, human faces on issues of poverty, teenage motherhood, abuse, and the drug world.
The Civil Rights Book Club aims to provide context and provoke discussion about today's top social justice concerns. Each week, we profile a book, a movie, or other media that represent the diversity of the contemporary social justice movement. You can help support The Leadership Conference by purchasing Book Club selections through the Amazon.com link on our website.
Civil Rights Book Club: 'The Revolt of the Cockroach People' by Oscar Zeta Acosta
November 13, 2009 - Posted by The Leadership Conference
"The Revolt of the Cockroach People" is a fictionalized semi-autobiographical account of Oscar Zeta Acosta's involvement in the Chicano anti-war protest of the Vietnam War in 1970.
The novel also covers a variety of conflicts between the protagonist, Buffalo Zeta Brown, an attorney with his own share of personal problems, and the religious, educational, and legal systems of East Los Angeles, CA at the time. Brown represents rioters who were unjustly indicted and in the process draws significant attention to many Latino issues, but also sacrifices his own health in the process.
Acosta's novel shows how one of the largest Chicano protest movements was fought both in the streets and in the courts.
The Civil Rights Book Club aims to provide context and provoke discussion about today's top social justice concerns. Each week, we profile a book, a movie, or other media that represent the diversity of the contemporary social justice movement. You can help support The Leadership Conference by purchasing Book Club selections through the Amazon.com link on our website.
Civil Rights Book Club: 'Let's Get Free' by Paul Butler
November 6, 2009 - Posted by The Leadership Conference
After years as a federal prosecutor, Paul Butler became convinced that American criminal justice system is fundamentally broken, ruining more lives than it protects. In his book, "Let's Get Free: A Hip-Hop Theory of Justice," Butler offers a lively and interesting analysis of crime and punishment in the United States and provides a powerful new vision of justice.
He explores the limitations of working within a "corrupt" system and discusses a variety of provocative proposals for how ordinary citizens protest a system that is unjust.
The Civil Rights Book Club aims to provide context and provoke discussion about today's top social justice concerns. Each week, we profile a book, a movie, or other media that represent the diversity of the contemporary social justice movement. You can help support The Leadership Conference by purchasing Book Club selections through the Amazon.com link on our website.
