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VIDEO

Caste Discrimination in the United States: What Every Lawyer Should Know About This Growing Civil Rights Issue

Juan R. Thomas, Tarina Mand, Navdeep Singh, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, Ajantha Subramanian, and Wendy C. Shilba

The U.S. legal community generally is unfamiliar with caste-based discrimination and its impact on civil rights. However, efforts to end caste-based discrimination in the United States have grown considerably in the past few years—making caste an issue that American attorneys need to understand. Earlier this year, Seattle City Council passed a first-in-nation law to amend anti-discrimination protections in employment, public places, housing, and contracting to include caste as a protected class. California is considering a similar bill, SB 403, that will make explicit pre-existing protections against caste-based discrimination in California. Other states are expected to follow suit. How does an attorney unfamiliar with the concept of caste-based discrimination make sense of the current debate? What is caste discrimination and why is it relevant in the United States? Why is an issue that has received widespread, bipartisan support still subject to fierce opposition and disinformation campaigns? These are some of the pressing questions covered in this webinar that aims to educate attorneys on this important and growing civil rights issue.

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