Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice

Join Us. Whatever your area of specialization, CRSJ has a place for you. Over the past five decades, the Section and its members have worked on hundreds of issues addressing a broad range of civil rights, civil liberties, and international human rights. Today, the Section continues to promote policies affecting racial equality, environmental and economic justice, LGBT rights, gender equity, and other significant civil rights issues.

CRSJ Projects & Initiatives

Perfecting Democracy | Recruiting lawyers and law students to volunteer to assist organizations engaged in nonpartisan efforts to protect fair elections.

Chair Chat | Discussing critical civil rights and social justice issues challenging our society.

Economic Justice Summit | Convened lawyers, activists, policymakers, and key stakeholders to formulate policy solutions to our country’s most critical economic disparities.

See all CRSJ Projects and Initiatives

Sep

Events | Webinar

Trumping Rule 53: A Historic Trials Exception for Courtroom Cameras?

The anticipated criminal trials of former President Trump will test the judiciarys absolutism in excluding cameras from federal courtrooms. Will researchers looking back on these historic cases find…

Oct

Events | Webinar

Building a Neuroinclusive Legal Workplace: The Competitive Advantage of Diversity

Between 15-20% of the US population is neurodiverse. Neurodiversity is getting lots of attention, with more and more employers recognizing the benefits of diversity of thought and tapping into this t…

Oct

Events | Webinar

Deaths in Custody: A National Crisis

Throughout the nation, people of color will experience a negative encounter with law enforcement at a rate that is disproportionate to their white counterparts.

Featured Member Spotlights

Antonia K. Fasanelli

CRSJ Economic Justice Co-Chair

Wendy Greene

CRSJ African American Affairs Co-Chair

Rep. Pamelya Herndon

CRSJ African American Affairs Co-Chair

Daniel A. Cotter

CRSJ Fair and Impartial Courts Co-Chair

Latest News & Resources

Southwestern Journal of International Law - Responses to Against White Feminism

A publication of the Southwestern Journal of International Law symposium, a CRSJ co-sponsored event with Southwestern Law School and Latina/o Critical Legal Theory (LatCrit) on Responses to Against White Feminism.

Letter from ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross to Missouri Governor Michael Parson Concerning the Scheduled Execution of Johnny Johnson

The American Bar Association does not believe that justice will be served by the execution of a person with severe and longstanding mental illness. Therefore, the ABA urges the Governor of Missouri to grant clemency to Mr. Johnson or, at the very least, to halt his execution until a fair evaluation and hearing concerning his competency to be executed can be conducted.

ABA announces collaboration with the Hip Hop Caucus

The American Bar Association announced plans to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip hop and its intersection with social justice with a two-year collaboration with the Hip Hop Caucus, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization formed in 2004 to encourage young people to participate in the democratic process.

ABA House adopts host of new policies, including support for ethics code for U.S. Supreme Court

In wrapping up its ABA 2023 Midyear Meeting, the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates approved today first-time policies endorsing “reasonable and appropriate” federal government efforts aimed at combating money laundering as well as a code of judicial ethics binding on justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Post-Roe, scramble for reproductive rights intensifies

Three legal advocates, including ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice Council Member and Rights of Women Committee Co-Chair Aracely Muñoz, urged lawyers who support reproductive rights to become more involved in the issue after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The advocates spoke at a program Feb. 2 at the American Bar Association Midyear Meeting in New Orleans.

Statement of ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross on the Killing of Tyre Nichols

The American Bar Association joins the nation in once again mourning a senseless loss of life as a result of inexcusable police actions. Tyre Nichols’ killing in Memphis is the latest in what has been a horrific number of attacks, injuries and deaths against people of color by some members of the very groups sworn to protect them.

ABA sends Senate letter urging swift passage of the Electoral Count Reform Act

ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross sent a letter to Senate leadership on November 29, 2022, urging passage of S. 4573, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, which seeks to update procedures for the counting and certification of electoral votes for the presidency under the Electoral Count Act of 1887.

Statement of ABA President Deborah Enix-Ross on Title 42 immigration policy

The American Bar Association looks forward to the termination of Title 42, a pandemic-era border expulsion policy, that will soon be ended as a result of a federal judge’s ruling.

New ABA voting rights initiative to recruit lawyers eager to perfect democracy

The ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice’s Task Force on Fair Elections and Voting Rights is calling on lawyers and law students to help ensure free, fair and safe elections. The Lawyers as Changemakers: Perfecting Democracy Initiative is nonpartisan and aimed at matching lawyers and law students with organizations that need voting rights assistance before, during and after the election.

ABA amicus brief says legal theory before U.S. Supreme Court poses ‘dire’ consequences

The American Bar Association filed an amicus brief on October 26, 2022, with the U.S. Supreme Court, expressing a “dire” warning that a legal theory giving state legislatures unfettered authority to set rules for federal elections “would pose a severe threat to republican democracy" by freeing federal elections from the rule of law constraints that protect their integrity.

ABA urges Supreme Court to uphold long-standing civil rights principles in same-sex bias case

The American Bar Association filed an amicus brief on August 19, 2022, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm lower court decisions that private businesses cannot rely on the First Amendment to claim a right to be exempt from state public-accommodation laws barring discrimination against would-be customers based on their sexual orientation.

Section Resources

About Us

Created in 1966 during the height of the civil rights movement, the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice is the only membership entity within the ABA dedicated solely to civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights issues.

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The Section is currently accepting applications for legal interns (immediate start).

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