LDF Announces Partnership with Young Black Lawyers’ Organizing Coalition for Voter Protection Work in Texas, South Carolina

Read a PDF of our statement here.

Young Black law students and lawyers will fan out to key areas to counter voter suppression, build Black voting power

Today, the Legal Defense Fund announced a partnership with the Young Black Lawyers' Organizing Coalition (YBLOC) that will fully fund the travel of more than two dozen law students to critical parts of Texas and South Carolina to do election protection and voter engagement work. Law students will be deployed from schools across the country, and they will be working in several areas of East Texas and the Lowcountry region of South Carolina. These two regions were specifically identified for the program because they have high concentrations of Black voters paired with low voter turnout, and they are especially vulnerable to voting rights violations.

"With the future of our multiracial democracy on the ballot, it is pivotal that we shape the next generation of civil rights and voting rights attorneys across the country," said Christina Das, Black Voters on the Rise Counsel. "LDF has been committed to this effort via our Marshall-Motley Scholarship program and is now doubling down with this partnership across the deep south during the last weekend of early voting. Our partnership with YBLOC centers young Black lawyers as a key resource in the fight to counter voter suppression and to protect voting rights for all. It comes during one of the most critical elections in our lifetime."

"Black lawyers have always been critical to building and protecting democracy, and this defining moment in the life of our nation is no different," said Abdul Dosunmu, Founder and Executive Director of the Young Black Lawyers' Organizing Coalition. "By deploying young Black lawyers and law students across the nation to do democracy work in Black communities, YBLOC is strengthening and safeguarding Black voting power while cultivating the next generation of Black lawyers as democracy leaders. We are honored to partner with the Legal Defense Fund to increase the footprint of this essential work across Texas and South Carolina in this election."

Specifically, the law students will provide voters of color with the information and tools they need to understand their choices and voting rights.

This groundbreaking partnership is designed to help law students gain exposure to the challenges confronting Black voting power; gain practical experience with a wide range of tools to protect democracy, including community organizing; and develop relationships with like-minded peers and new communities of support. The effort is also aimed at equipping young Black lawyers with skills and experience in voting rights work in order to build and empower the next generation of civil rights lawyers, particularly in the South.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights law organization. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, refer to the organization as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF. Please note that LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957 - although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights.