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    Posted on Dec 23, 2014

    66 Times The Right Choices Were Made On Civil And Human Rights In 2014

    In a year that commemorated several significant anniversaries - including the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty, the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, and the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act - the civil and human rights community continued to advocate for progress and scored some significant victories - despite an almost historically unproductive Congress.

    1. When the Senate confirmed Janet Yellen as the first woman to head the Federal Reserve.

    Via flic.kr

    2. When the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice released federal guidelines intended to reduce racial disparities in school discipline.

    3. When Congress introduced the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act to restore protections in the wake of Shelby County v. Holder.

    4. When the Senate confirmed Robert Wilkins to the D.C. Circuit Court after filibustering him the year before.

    5. When the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) introduced mortgage rules promising new rights for borrowers and greater protection from harmful practices.

    6. When the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to advance the Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014.

    Via vox.com

    7. When President Obama emphasized shared prosperity in his State of the Union address and said he would be raising the minimum wage for federal contractors.

    Via flic.kr

    8. When Deputy Attorney General James Cole announced a formal executive clemency process for people incarcerated with overly punitive sentences.

    9. When AG Eric Holder spoke at The Leadership Conference Education Fund’s criminal justice convening and reminded us that, "although our laws and procedures must be continually updated, our commitment to the cause of justice must remain constant."

    Watch his entire speech here.

    10. When the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) long-awaited cap on interstate prison phone rates took effect on February 11.

    11. When President Obama announced the “My Brother’s Keeper” initiative aimed at creating opportunities for boys and young men of color in America.

    12. When a coalition of civil, human & media rights organizations released Civil Rights Principles for the Era of Big Data, urging companies and the government to develop and use these new technologies in ways that will promote equal opportunity and justice.

    13. When the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the state’s current public school funding levels were unconstitutional.

    14. When members of Congress introduced the Fair Employment Protection Act in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2013 decision in Vance v. Ball State University, which narrowed protections for employees who face harassment in the workplace.

    Via Twitter: @nwlc

    Watch Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D. Wisc., introduce it here.

    15. When President Obama took executive action to improve the wages and working conditions of women.

    16. When lawmakers introduced the Democracy Restoration Act, which would restore the right to vote in federal elections to millions of Americans with felony convictions who have completed their prison sentences.

    17. When the White House released its report on big data and it emphasized critical civil rights concerns.

    18. When the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice said – in the wake of Schuette – that race-conscious methods of achieving diversity are still permissible.

    19. When the administration told public schools that they can’t deny education to students based on their immigration status.

    20. When the Washington Post editorial board in May wrote in support of the bipartisan Voting Rights Amendment Act.

    21. When the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released guidance to verify explicitly that federal civil rights laws that apply to public schools also apply to public charter schools.

    22. When civil rights and education groups signed onto a full-page ad in The New York Times to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Brown and to demonstrate their strong, united support for the equitable implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

    23. When the White House announced that Obama would sign an executive order to protect LGBT workers (and again when he signed it).

    24. When the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office cancelled six federal trademark registrations for the name of Washington’s football team.

    25. When Labor Secretary Tom Perez announced a proposed rule extending Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protections to all employees in legal same-sex marriages regardless of whether their home state recognizes the marriage.

    26. When the Senate held a hearing on the Voting Rights Amendment Act on the one-year anniversary of Shelby County v. Holder, and when members of Congress and voting rights advocates rallied afterward.

    Watch a video of the hearing here.

    27. When the Senate passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

    28. When the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld, for a second time, the University of Texas’ consideration of race as one of many factors in admissions.

    29. When the Senate confirmed Julian Castro to head the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

    Via flic.kr

    30. When the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released guidance on the subject of discrimination against pregnant workers – the first guidance of its kind in more than 30 years.

    31. When the Senate finally confirmed Ronnie White to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

    32. When the United States Sentencing Commission applied its April drug amendment retroactively without limitation, meaning that many offenders currently in prison could be eligible for reduced sentences beginning November 2015.

    33. When the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) to the full Senate.

    34. When the Senate confirmed the nomination of Pamela Harris to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

    35. When Reps. Keith Ellison, D. Minn., and John Lewis, D. Ga., announced legislation to bolster protections for workers who face discrimination as a result of efforts to form or join a labor union.

    36. When President Obama signed The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order, requiring federal contractors – before they can receive new federal contracts – to disclose labor law violations that have occurred in the last three years.

    37. When U.S. civil rights advocates presented to a U.N. panel in Geneva, Switzerland, documenting their concerns and recommendations for progress under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

    Via Flickr: us-mission

    Read our shadow report here.

    38. When the U.S. Department of Labor released guidance to explicitly classify discrimination based on gender identity and transgender status as sex discrimination.

    39. When the Washington Post editorial board said it would no long use the racist name of Washington’s professional football team.

    40. When Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC, told reporters he thought the name of Washington’s football team is “offensive and derogatory.”

    41. When the FCC proposed further reform on prison phone rates.

    42. When the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs held a hearing on D. C. statehood – and Wade Henderson testified.

    Watch a video of the hearing here.

    43. When more than 500,000 Americans signed a petition to say it’s time to restore voting rights.

    44. When the Department of Education released guidance to clarify how federal law requires the equitable distribution of resources to students under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    45. When the U.S. Supreme Court blocked Wisconsin from requiring photo identification from voters ahead of the midterm elections.

    46. When Vanita Gupta was appointed Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General and Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Justice Department.

    ACLU/Molly Kaplan

    47. When the Arkansas Supreme Court struck down the state’s restrictive voter ID law in a unanimous decision calling the law unconstitutional.

    48. When U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ruled in an almost 150-page decision that Texas’s photo ID law is discriminatory and equates to an unconstitutional poll tax. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg agreed.

    49. When the U.S. Office of Special Counsel made an important and legally reverberating decision and ruled in favor of a transgender federal employee facing workplace discrimination.

    50. When new guidelines that sensibly reduce sentences for most drug trafficking offenses went into effect.

    51. When the Department of Education took a step forward with its announcement of new gainful employment regulations.

    Read our policy brief with other civil rights groups here.

    52. When voters in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota approved binding minimum wage referendums on Election Day.

    53. When it was reported that President Obama would nominate Loretta Lynch to be the next U.S. Attorney General after Eric Holder announced his decision to resign earlier in the year.

    Via flic.kr

    54. When Pennsylvania students, parents, and education advocates filed a lawsuit challenging the funding of the state’s public schools as grossly inadequate, depriving students of a “thorough and efficient” education guaranteed by the state's Constitution.

    55. When an American civil rights delegation urged OSCE nations for greater hate crimes protections at an anti-Semitism conference in Berlin – and showed the world what a diverse coalition looks like.

    56. When FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler announced a proposed increase of $1.5 billion in funding for the federal E-Rate program.

    57. When President Obama took executive action on immigration reform.

    58. When the Senate confirmed Charlotte Burrows as commissioner and P. David Lopez as general counsel of the EEOC.

    59. When President Obama announced a series of reforms in response to the police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown and similar incidents across the country.

    60. When OSCE adopted a declaration championed by The Leadership Conference to re-commit to combating the resurgence of anti-Semitism across Europe.

    Read the entire declaration here.

    61. When the Department of Labor announced its final rule to protect LGBT federal contractors.

    62. When the Department of Justice released updated racial profiling guidance to expand protected categories to include gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

    Via justice.gov

    Read the guidance here.

    63. When the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Human Rights held a hearing on the state of civil and human rights in America.

    Via Twitter: @jpscasteras

    Watch a video of the hearing here.

    64. When the Senate passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act.

    65. When the Department of Justice announced that transgender discrimination is covered under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

    66. When the 113th Congress adjourned having confirmed 132 judicial nominations, the most of any Congress since 1980.

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