Dear Friend,

It's been 50 years since the founding of the Washington Lawyers' Committee and the nation is standing at another inflection point. We face rising inequality and racial segregation. Wealth and income inequality are at levels not seen in 100 years, housing segregation is at levels that rival the period prior to the civil rights movement and our schools are as segregated today than the day that Brown v. Board was decided. It’s easy to survey the current landscape and despair about what has not been accomplished.

That would be a mistake. 

As you'll read throughout this newsletter, the sacrifice and struggle of courageous men and women who have fought for justice and the hard and brilliant work of their dedicated lawyers has not been for naught. Much has been accomplished. Change is real. Lives are different as a result. 

We cannot afford to waste momentum. Together we must continue the fight to dismantle injustice and pursue lasting change. 

Thank you,
Jonathan Smith
Executive Director, Washington Lawyers’ Committee

Hundreds of you came together for our 2018 Wiley A. Branton Awards Dinner on October 23^rd, celebrating 50 years of dismantling injustice and pursuing lasting change. Read more about the evening in a note from Jonathan Smith and check out our event photo gallery.

Two recent victories by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee have increased housing opportunities for thousands of potential tenants. Both outcomes help move the needle towards fulfilling the Fair Housing Act’s promise – the right to be free of discrimination when accessing and residing in housing. The Committee is proud to partner with the Equal Rights Center which has pioneered the use of testing in order to identify wide-spread local and national housing practices that discriminate against low-income residents and individuals with criminal histories, all of whom are people of color. This partnership, along with the private bar, has been instrumental to the success of these important cases. Read more....