Department of Justice Holds Anniversary Event Honoring 65 Years of its the Civil Rights Division

The anniversary event began with notes from Associate Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Civil Rights Division. She described the story of James Meredith, the first African-American student who required the protection of armed troops from the federal government to be admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi.

“Meredith’s experience highlights both the progress we have made and the centrality of the Civil Rights Division in our nation’s long pursuit of justice. In part because of cases we litigated and policies we pursued, whites-only buses no longer roll past Black children walking to school. The law no longer forces separation of the races. People of color no longer require the protection of federal troops to vindicate basic rights.” -Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke

“But despite the progress, we know that the Civil Rights Division is needed now more than ever. The racial hatred that required deployment of 31,000 troops in 1962 still persists today. In 2020, reported hate crimes rose to their highest levels in nearly two decades. More than 60% were motivated by race and ethnicity. More than half of those targeted Black people. We are also confronting antisemitism, anti-Asian, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-Muslim bias.” -Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke

“Nevertheless, I firmly believe in the opportunity for progress on civil rights in this country. I reject the defeatist predictions of decline and stagnation...we are making significant strides when it comes to some of the most pressing issues of our time – the need for law enforcement accountability, the need to eliminate hate root and branch, and the need to safeguard the rights of the most vulnerable among us.” -Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Kristen Clarke

“Since the establishment of the Division, generations of Civil Rights Division attorneys and staff have been tasked with some of this Department’s most important work of this Department. That work continues today. The Civil Rights Division has been at the forefront of the Department’s efforts to protect the right to vote...[it] has also been at the center of our efforts to prevent and prosecute hate crimes...[it] has also been central to the Department’s efforts to ensure constitutional policing and to build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.” -Attorney General Merrick B. Garland

“In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe and Casey, the Division has also played an essential role in our work to defend federally protected reproductive rights...and it has worked to protect the rights of veterans, to ensure that students have equal access to opportunity in schools, and to defend the rights of Americans with disabilities to equal opportunities and full participation in our society...I am proud of the extraordinary work the Civil Rights Division has done on all of these matters – and so many more.” -Attorney General Merrick B. Garland

“From enforcing our nation’s laws to protect against housing discrimination to ensuring equal access to places of public accommodation...from working to achieve equal opportunity for people with disabilities to ensuring all children in the United States have access to public education...from protecting citizens from discrimination in voting to prosecuting hate crimes, the Civil Rights Division has been up to the task.” -Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco

“From enforcing our nation’s laws to protect against housing discrimination to ensuring equal access to places of public accommodation...from working to achieve equal opportunity for people with disabilities to ensuring all children in the United States have access to public education...from protecting citizens from discrimination in voting to prosecuting hate crimes, the Civil Rights Division has been up to the task.” -Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco

“Progress is not linear, nor is it not inevitable, and it is always hard fought, and I know that you know that. Setbacks only underscore the importance of the Civil Rights Division and the mission that it was originally charged with and continues to do every day. As Americans demand broader, more inclusive, definitions of freedom and equality, we are called to reimagine our ideals, and to use every tool that DOJ has available to make those ideals a reality.” -Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta

“So let us never forget that together, we can achieve progress that creates ripples of hope across our country. And let us signal, too, to the world today that in America, the pursuit of a more perfect, more equal and more just union lives on.” -Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta