|
About the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is one of the most important civil rights organizations in the United States. Founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall, LDF's original mission was to provide legal assistance to poor African Americans; however, over the years, LDF has transformed the promise of justice and equality into a reality for all Americans, regardless of race, creed or gender.
LDF is involved in numerous cases before the US Supreme Court, and has one of the largest active dockets—more than 100 cases—of any legal public-service agency. Since its establishment, LDF has participated in important class-action civil rights litigation, including voting rights, housing and unemployment discrimination, and school desegregation suits, as well as police brutality, prosecutorial misconduct, and death penalty cases. It was LDF's first director and advocate, Marshall, who led the legal team that won the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education school desegregation case in 1954.
Further information about the LDF and the Shearman & Sterling/LDF Scholarship program is available at www.naacpldf.org.
|