John Brittain, William Robinson, and Kristen Clarke were honored during the anniversary celebration. Lloyd Cutler and Ernest N. Morial also were lauded posthumously for their transformative contributions to the fight for racial justice.
WASHINGTON–Today, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law celebrates 60 years of action using 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 democracy real. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization mobilizes the private bar’s leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity.
Founded on June 21, 1963, at the request of President John F. Kennedy, the Lawyers’ Committee has spent six decades fighting for issues including voting rights, affirmative action, and digital justice. The Lawyers’ Committee stands on the front lines of the most pressing and complex civil rights problems, using litigation, public education, and other advocacy tools to address discrimination, advance the law and take defensive action when necessary to safeguard fragile gains.
“As we commemorate our 60th anniversary, we look back with pride on a history marked by resilience and triumph in the face of adversity. The Lawyers’ Committee was created to confront and conquer the profound injustices facing Black people and other people of color,” said Damon Hewitt, President, and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee. “As we look to the future, we draw strength from our foundation with unshaken resolve. We persist in our pursuit of a society where the ideals of democracy are not just abstract concepts but lived realities for the communities we serve. Together, we can build a future we deserve — a future illuminated by justice, equality, and enduring opportunity.”
On Tuesday, June 20, the Lawyers’ Committee marked its 60th anniversary with a signature event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. This special evening honored the organization’s founding and victories achieved over the years while also reaffirming its commitment to realizing The Future We Deserve.
During the event, the Lawyers’ Committee honored five giants of Civil Rights – John C. Brittain, the Olie W. Rauh Professor of Law at the University at District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law; Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; and William Robinson, Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of the District of Columbia. Lloyd Cutler, White House Counsel during the administrations of Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and Ernest N. Morial, leading civil rights advocate and first Black mayor of New Orleans, were honored posthumously.
The honorees have deep ties to the Lawyers’ Committee. Brittain is a former Chief Counsel and Senior Deputy Director of the organization and was among the early attorney volunteers the organization sent to work in Mississippi in the 1960s. Robinson and Clarke are former executive directors of the organization. And both Cutler and Morial were among the attorneys who participated in the founding meeting of the Lawyers’ Committee convened by President Kennedy in 1963.
Special guest speakers included Marc H. Morial, President of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans, and Beverly Cutler, the first woman to sit on the state Superior Court in Alaska. Both accepted the awards on behalf of their late fathers. Other speakers included Ron Machen, litigation chair at WilmerHale and former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, and Laura Murphy, veteran civil rights and civil liberties leader.
Among other key initiatives, the Lawyers’ Committee leads efforts nationwide for unfettered access to the ballot, equal representation, and the assurance that every vote will be counted; promotes racial and ethnic diversity and integration in PK-12 and higher education, defending affirmative action before the Supreme Court; advances racial equity in the digital world through creating safeguards against algorithmic bias and other forms of digital discrimination; challenges laws and policies that criminalize poverty; and promotes access to justice and the right to counsel.
In addition to this week’s 60th Anniversary event at the Kennedy Center, the Lawyers’ Committee will host its annual Higginbotham Leadership Awards Gala on October 4 at Cipriani Wall Street. To learn more about upcoming events and the organization, visit TheFutureWeDeserve.org.
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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.
