Press Release - Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Calls IRS Investigation of NAACP Politically Motivated

For Immediate Release
Contact: Maggie Kao, 202-466-2735, kao@civilrights.org
November 2, 2004

Washington - Today, Wade Henderson, executive director of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), the nation's oldest, largest, and most diverse civil and human rights coalition, sent a letter to IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson expressing grave concerns regarding the agency's actions to review the tax exempt status of the NAACP.

In the letter to Everson, Henderson states: "LCCR believes that it is antithetical to our country's principles of free speech and democracy to use the tax code to silence those with opposing views. The IRS must not be allowed to unfairly attack organizations without basis or sufficient cause."

For the full text of the letter visit www.civilrights.org.