History of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights & The Leadership Conference Education Fund

For over a half century, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has led the fight for equal opportunity and social justice.

The Leadership Conference was founded in 1950 by A. Philip Randolph, head of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters; Roy Wilkins of the NAACP; and Arnold Aronson, a leader of the National Jewish Community Relations Advisory Council.  Their visionary leadership was grounded in their commitment to social justice and the firm conviction that the struggle for civil rights would be won, not by one group alone, but through coalition. Read more about LCCR's founders.

While many marched in the streets, sat-in at lunch counters, and refused to ride in the back of the bus, The Leadership Conference worked to get Congress to pass legislation that would protect the civil and human rights of all Americans. The Leadership Conference lobbied for and won 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, the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and also helped to organize one of the defining events of the 20th century —the 1963 March on Washington.

These laws transformed the nation, outlawing discrimination in nearly every facet of American life and made it more fair and equitable for all Americans.

In 1969, the Leadership Conference Education Fund was founded as the education and research arm of The Leadership Conference.  The Education Fund's initiatives are grounded in the belief that an informed public is more likely to support effective federal civil rights and social justice policies.

Today, The Leadership Conference is the nation's premier civil and human rights coalition, committed to the protection and advancement of civil and human rights for every person in the United States.  It has become the nerve center for fighting discrimination in all its forms and expanding opportunity and fairness for all Americans.  The Education Fund complements this work by building public will for federal policies that promote and protect the civil and human rights of all persons in the United States. Its campaigns empower and mobilize advocates around the country to push for progressive change in the United States.

Historic Victories

1990s – The Leadership Conference pushed for and won the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Civil Rights Act of 1991, which reversed a number of Supreme Court decisions that had weakened the original Civil Rights Act of 1964.

1980s – The Leadership Conference led the successful campaign to keep controversial judicial nominee, Robert Bork, off of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1970s – The Leadership Conference pushed for and won the passage of the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits gender discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving federal funding; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in federally assisted programs; and The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, which prohibits discrimination based on age in programs or activities that receive federal funds.

1960s - The Leadership Conference pushed for and won the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 —laws that shaped the future.

1950s - The Leadership Conference was founded in 1950 and pushed for and won the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the first federal civil rights law since Reconstruction.