History of LCCR & LCCREF
For over a half century, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) has led the fight for equal opportunity and social justice.
LCCR 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, LCCR worked to get Congress to pass legislation that would protect the civil rights of all Americans. LCCR lobbied for and won the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and 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 on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF) was founded as the education and research arm of LCCR. LCCREF initiatives are grounded in the belief that an informed public is more likely to support effective federal civil rights and social justice policies.
Today, LCCR is the nation's oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, committed to the protection and advancement of basic civil rights for everyone. It has become the nerve center for fighting discrimination in all its forms and expanding opportunity and fairness for all Americans.
