Summer 2003
LCCREF Enters into Partnership with Americans for a Fair Chance
In the months leading up to the Supreme Court affirmative action decisions, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF) entered into a new partnership with Americans for a Fair Chance (AFC). AFC is a collaboration of six of the nation's leading civil rights legal organizations, including the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc., National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, National Women's Law Center, and the National Partnership for Women and Families, designed to educate the public and the media on the ways affirmative action has strengthened the nation.
Since then, AFC/LCCREF has been calling for support for affirmative action policies and programs, in recognition of the fact that America's campuses, workforce, and national security significantly benefit by recruiting men and women from diverse races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
In May 2003, recognizing that the stakes are now at an all-time high for current and future generations of students, AFC/LCCREF convened a "National Student Leadership Strategy Session on Affirmative Action," designed to assist student in their efforts to educate and mobilize their peers on the importance of affirmative action.
In July 2003, AFC/LCCREF convened a forum on "The Military and Affirmative Action" to examine how the military developed successful affirmative action programs and what is likely to happen if the Supreme Court decides to change current law.
A newly designed web site, www.fairchance.org., complements AFC's recent partnership with LCCREF, which is designed to position AFC/LCCREF at the center of the civil rights coalition, allowing for expansion of the scope and reach of its work.
Shirley J. Wilcher, former executive director of AFC, has provided strategic and operation support as president and CEO of Wilcher Global LLC.
