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Civil Rights Briefing: Honoring Legacy, Confronting New Threats (Lawyers’ Committee Newsletter August 2025)

This past August, we reflected on two defining milestones in the fight for democracy—the 60th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and the 105th anniversary of the 19th Amendment—while recognizing how unfinished the struggle for racial equity remains. From ongoing battles over racially discriminatory maps in Texas, to rollbacks in education and workplace protections, to new threats against cultural institutions, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law continues to stand at the forefront of defending civil rights. This month’s briefing highlights our litigation, press statements, and national media coverage as we honor the past and mobilize for the future.

Honoring Milestones in Civil Rights

Voting Rights Act (VRA) at 60 (Aug 6, 1965) and 19th Amendment at 105 (Aug 18, 1920)

The VRA transformed the promise of the 19th Amendment into meaningful access for Black women and other voters of color—especially in the South—where discriminatory barriers persisted long after 1920. The Lawyers’ Committee honors the suffragists and early voting-rights leaders by continuing their work to secure full and fair access to the ballot for all.

Official Press Releases & Statements

  • Lawyers’ Committee Honors 60th Anniversary of Voting Right Act and Demands Federal Action on Voting Rights| August 6, 2025| Read more
  • Court of Appeals Orders Lower Court to Rule on Whether Governor Youngkin Violated the Law by Previously Withholding Public Records Related to Voting Rights Restoration Process | August 8, 2025| Read more
  • Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Statement on President Trump’s Plan to Federalize the D.C. Police| August 11, 2025| Read more 
  • Federal Judge Rejects Broad Bid to Toss VACIR Voting Rights Case | August 14, 2025 | Read more
  • Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Condemns Texas Redistricting Plan as Racially Discriminatory | August 23, 2025 | Read more
  • Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Texas NAACP Ask Court to Block Texas’ Racially Gerrymandered Congressional Maps | August 26, 2025 | Read more
  • Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Reflects on 20 Years Since Hurricane Katrina | August 29, 2025 | Read more

Litigation Spotlight: Texas Redistricting

 

Texas has doubled down on racial gerrymandering—passing new congressional maps that dismantle majority-minority districts and weaken the political power of voters of color. On Aug. 26, the Texas NAACP, represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, filed a preliminary injunction to block these discriminatory maps.

As Damon T. Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee, said: “Racial gerrymandering is not a new tactic in Texas’ playbook. The only difference this time is the racism is partially masquerading as partisanship. These maps take things from bad to worse, amplifying the profound injustice already experienced by Black communities and other communities of color in Texas who are simply seeking a voice and representation in politics and in their own futures.”

We will continue fighting in the courts to remove barriers, like this 2021 redistricting plan, that threaten to dismantle voting rights. Read more

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Condemns Texas Redistricting Plan as Racially Discriminatory | August 24, 2025

Robert Weiner, the voting rights project director at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which represents the Texas NAACP in the ongoing lawsuit against Texas for racial gerrymandering, issued the following statement regarding the new redistricting law: Read more

In the News: Defending Civil Rights in a Shifting Legal Landscape

Civil rights are under renewed threat across multiple fronts. Here are some of the month’s most impactful stories:

Higher Education & DEI 

The Chronicle of Higher Education – August 1, 2025 | The Trump administration has issued a memo warning colleges that certain diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives could be deemed unlawful.

“It really is transparently designed to intimidate schools and others into abandoning lawful practices that support diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said Shaheena Simons, senior adviser for strategy and programs at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Read the full article 

Federal Oversight & Workplace Protections

The New York Times – August 1, 2025 | Andrea Lucas was confirmed to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), prompting scrutiny of her efforts to sidestep commission rules.

“She’s acting outside the E.E.O.C. on procedure and rules, which require a majority vote of the commission to change policy documents like the harassment guidance,” said Maya Raghu, national director, Protecting and Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Read the full article 

Voting Rights: Texas Redistricting (Roundup)

Also notable:

  • The Guardian – August 26, 2025: Reported the lawsuit seeks a federal injunction, citing violations of the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. Read  
  • CBS News – August 26, 2025: Covered the case as a direct challenge to partisan maps expected to favor Republicans in 2026. Read  
  • Texas Public Radio – August 31, 2025: Featured Robert Weiner on Texas Matters, explaining how gerrymandering tactics undermine voter influence. Listen  

Standing Against Attacks on Civil Rights Institutions

Salon – August 26, 2025 | In a separate story, Damon Hewitt responded to former President Trump’s efforts to undermine the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture:

“These efforts are a direct assault on the truth and an attempt to erase the lived experiences of Black people,” Hewitt said. “Racism is a shapeshifter; it evolves and adapts to challenge every piece of progress hard-won.” Read the full article 

Education & Civil Rights Enforcement Rolled Back

The Washington Post – August 21, 2025 | The U.S. Department of Education has quietly removed rules requiring schools to support English learners — a dramatic reversal of decades of civil rights precedent.

“The Department of Education and the Department of Justice are walking away from 55 years of legal understanding and enforcement. I don’t think we can understate how important that is,” said Michael Pillera, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. 

Pillera warned that without federal oversight, schools under financial strain may cut back on services, leaving English learners without essential support. Read the full article

Civil Rights Division Under Trump

The Washington Post – August 18, 2025
In a broader investigation into the Education Department, reporters found the Office for Civil Rights struggling under an unmanageable caseload.

“We have been left with thousands of cases that need to be reassigned… No one can do that many cases. It’s not possible,” Michael Pillera, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law., who previously served a decade inside OCR. Read the full article

Courts Push Back on Anti-DEI Guidance

Chronicle of Higher Education – August 15, 2025
A federal judge struck down the Trump administration’s sweeping anti-DEI directive. But before the ruling, the Education Department had already opened investigations into dozens of universities.

“They just kind of decreed this, and they did it in a way that is unsubstantiated, unsupported, and unexplained,” said Michael Pillera, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Read the full article 

Voting Rights in the States

Atlanta Journal-Constitution – August 20, 2025 | Georgia’s large-scale voter registration cancellations could wrongly impact eligible voters. “Just because you elect not to vote should not be a reason to remove you from the rolls,” said Julie Houk, senior counsel with the Lawyers’ Committee. “It should be based on the idea that you moved, not that you decided to sit an election out.” Read the full article

KVEO-TV / Valley Central (Texas) – August 19, 2025 |As President Trump prepared an executive order to block mail-in voting, LC called out the measure as voter suppression. “There is no justification for this obstruction of the right to vote,” said Robert Weiner, director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers’ Committee. “There’s no evidence mail-in voting is improper, and no basis for the President’s flat-earth claim that fraud affected the 2020 election.” Read the full article 

Digital Justice & Economic Equity

AfroTech – August 18, 2025
In an op-ed on the future of LinkedIn, AfroTech highlighted the Lawyers’ Committee’s February lawsuit against Meta. The suit alleges the platform’s algorithm funneled ads for low-quality, high-cost for-profit colleges disproportionately to Black users, while white users saw ads for nonprofit universities.

The Lawyers’ Committee explained this practice exacerbates racial inequity by steering communities of color toward higher-cost, lower-value education. Read the full article

Career Opportunities

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Events (September)

  • National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15- October 15)
  • National Voter Registration Day (September 16, 2025)

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The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. Today, the Lawyers’ Committee uses legal advocacy to achieve racial justice, fighting inside and outside the courts to ensure that Black people and other people of color have the voice, opportunity, and power to make the promises of our democracy real. The Lawyers’ Committee implements its mission and objectives by marshaling the pro bono resources of the bar for litigation, public policy, advocacy and other forms of service by lawyers to the cause of civil rights.

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