The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

Table of Contents

• Introduction

Executive Branch

• Looking Forward to New Blood in Washington
• Interview with Bob Edgar

On the Hill

• The Americans With Disabilities Act, Act Two
• As Home Foreclosures Climb, Efforts to Help Troubled Homeowners Continue
• The Year in Judicial and Executive Nominations
• Advocating for Federal Leadership on Education
• Facing New Challenges with the 2010 Census
• Modernizing the Federal Poverty Measure
• Piecemeal Legislation, Raids Take Place of Immigration Overhaul
• Below the Surface
• Interview with Kathryn Kolbert

In the Courts

• Wrapping up the Supreme Court’s 2007-2008 Term

In the States

• Colorado: Battleground for More Than Just the Presidency.
• Interview with Lilly Ledbetter

Leadership Conference Activities

• Preventing a Digital TV Divide
• Examining the State of Fair Housing in the 21st Century
• Bringing Diverse Communities Together
• 32nd Annual Hubert H. Humphrey Civil Rights Award Dinner
• Interview with John Payton

Interview with Kathryn Kolbert of People For the American Way

Civil Rights Monitor: Why did you decide to take your current position as the head of a major civil rights organization?

Kathryn Kolbert: After eight years as a journalist and educator, I was eager to return to being an advocate for individual rights and freedoms, particularly given the drubbing that civil rights protection and enforcement has taken in recent years. I am excited about the opportunity to lead People For the American Way, given its history as an advocate for women’s rights, LGBT equality, voting rights, religious liberty, and a Supreme Court and federal judiciary that will actually protect all those constitutional values.

Civil Rights Monitor: Looking forward, what are the issues with which your organization will be most concerned?

Kathryn Kolbert: People For the American Way and People For the American Way Foundation will continue to champion First Amendment freedoms – religious liberty and free speech – full legal equality for all Americans, and the right to vote. We will continue to advocate for the nomination and confirmation of federal judges who are committed to upholding Americans’ constitutional rights and legal protections. We will continue to monitor, expose, and counter threats to those values from the Religious Right and its political allies. And People For the American Way Foundation will continue to invest in the future of progressive leadership.

Civil Rights Monitor: Can you talk a little bit about why you think civil rights issues are still important issues in the 21st century?

Kathryn Kolbert: The freedoms protected by our Constitution – especially the freedom to speak one’s mind and to play an equal role with other citizens in electing our leaders – are at the heart of what it means to be an American. That will always be the case. The issues are different in the first decade of the 21st century than they were in the middle of the 20th century, or the middle of the 19th century, but there are still great and defining issues being debated – how to balance individual rights and national security interests, how to protect the right to vote while legal and administrative barriers continue to be erected, how to achieve full legal equality for LGBT Americans, how to preserve legal protections for women’s rights, [all of] which are under persistent attack.

Civil Rights Monitor: What do you think are the biggest challenges you and your organization face in doing the work that you do?

Kathryn Kolbert: There’s always more work to do than time, staff, and financial resources permit, especially for a multi-issue organization. So we continually face challenging questions about priorities and have to make decisions about where we can be most effective. I’m excited about extending our reach by using new online organizing tools and strategies for engaging more of our members and activists in our work.

Civil Rights Monitor: Can you talk a little about why it’s important for you and your organization to be a part of the LCCR coalition?

Kathryn Kolbert: It’s a lot more likely that we’ll be able to change the world when we’re working together. Every great social justice gain in our nation’s history has been won by engaging broad and diverse coalitions of Americans who come together for a common purpose. People For the American Way is proud of its membership and leadership role within the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights. It is a forum for strengthening working relationships across organizational boundaries, for devising shared strategies toward common goals, and for making the most of our resources by working in creative collaboration with colleagues.

Kathryn Kolbert is the new president of People For the American Way, March 2008