WASHINGTON–Today, the White House hosted the “United We Stand” Summit, bringing together civil rights advocates, hate incident survivors, business and government leaders to address the rising tide of hate nationwide.
During the summit, the White House honored “Uniters” – Americans working to bring their communities together across lines of racial, religious, political and other differences to prevent acts of hate-fueled violence and foster unity. Among those honored by the White House are Taylor Dumpson, Associate Counsel at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and a survivor of white-supremacist-fueled hate activity, and Dawn and Rick Collins, who partner with the Lawyers’ Committee to train law enforcement on how to better respond in the wake of hateful activity. The Collins are the founders of the 2LT Richard W. Collins III Foundation and parents of the late-Army Second Lieutenant Richard Collins III, who was murdered by a man with white supremacist ties in 2017.
“We applaud President Biden for hosting the United We Stand Summit, which is a promising step in the fight against white supremacy,” said Damon Hewitt, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “In recent years we have witnessed a troubling rise in violence and threats of intimidation against Black Americans and other communities of color. People have been attacked or threatened while voting, shopping and even worshiping. The United We Stand Summit offers an opportunity to address this scourge by uniting every aspect of civil society under a bold and proactive approach that starts with shared values about equality and racial justice. The administration and all those participating must take the opportunity to make this convening more than a single moment; it must mark the beginnings of a ‘Marshall Plan’ to fight hate-motivated violence and the proliferation of white supremacist ideology. All hands must be on deck.”
“The United We Stand Summit signaled a commitment to not only addressing, but directly combating hateful activity across the country,” said Taylor Dumpson. “This commitment must continue outside this meeting and into action-driven legislation from the federal government, into the conversations tech and business leaders have when enacting new responsible use policies for their platforms, and into community-level initiatives that can directly support those most vulnerable to these injustices.”
“This summit is both a moment of redress for those affected by hate-fueled violence and a call to action among those with the most power and those with the most drive to take the necessary actions to counter cruelty rooted in hate,” said Dawn and Rick Collins in a joint statement. “Together we are stronger, more prepared, and more able to prevent such senseless injustice from harming anyone else.”
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About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law– 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. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org
About the James Byrd Jr. Center to Stop Hate at the Lawyers’ Committee– The James Byrd Jr. Center to Stop Hate, at the Lawyers’ Committee, supports communities and individuals targeted for hate and challenges white supremacy by using creative legal advocacy, disrupting systems that enable hate, and educating the general public and policy makers.
