Web Sites: Law and Race in the U.S.

• American Civil Liberties Union, Racial Equality
  The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is the "nation's foremost advocate of individual rights -- litigating, legislating, and educating the public on a broad array of issues affecting individual freedom in the United States." The Racial Equality page includes ACLU's briefing papers on Racial Justice, Affirmative Action, Hate Speech on College Campuses, and background material on racial profiling.
• Civil Rights and Discrimination Law Materials and Equal Protection Law Materials
  Provided by the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University's Law School, these sites offer a hypertext overview of the topic and a menu of sources material including key court decisions.
• Civilrights.org
  Describing itself as the "definitive source for civil rights on the net," this site "aims to serve as a central repository and trusted intermediary for information on a variety of civil and human rights issues." Maintained by the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and the Leadership Conference Education Fund, the website includes recent policy issues and legislation, a civil rights library, educational material, an event calendar and newsletter.
• The Civil Rights Project - Harvard University
  A policy-oriented institution whose work is focused on "matters directly related to race and ethnicity", more specifically falling under three overlapping headings: discrimination, diversity and opportunity; race in public policy; and leadership in connecting communities. The Civil Rights Project site includes policy reports and documents, "civil rights alerts", notices of conferences, and links to government and non-governmental web sites.
• Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
  Founded in 1942, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is the "third oldest and one of the "Big Four" civil rights groups in the United States. From the protests against "Jim Crow" laws of the 40's to the "Sit-ins" of the 50's and the "Freedom Rides" of the 60's; through the cries for "Self-Determination" in the 70's and "Equal Opportunity" in the 80's to the struggle for community development in the 90's, CORE has championed true equality for all people." The page includes history of the organization, major programs and events, news and featured articles.
• Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
  One of the oldest and largest U.S. civil rights coalitions, leading the fight for equal opportunity and social justice. Beginning with 30 organizations, LCCR now consists of "more than 185 national organizations, representing persons of color, women, children, labor unions, individuals with disabilities, older Americans, major religious groups, gays and lesbians and civil liberties and human rights groups." The LCCR's site includes a News Center and civil rights "issues" pages that offer extensive background and resource material.
• The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
  Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the "the nation's largest and strongest civil rights organization. The NAACP's principal objective is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of United States and eliminate race prejudice. This mission is accomplished by seeking the enactment and enforcement of federal, state and local laws securing civil rights, and by informing the public of the adverse effects of racial discrimination." The site includes details about its programs, numerous press releases, and links to related organizations
• The National Conference for Community and Justice
  Founded in 1927 as The National Conference of Christians and Jews, The National Conference for Community and Justice is a "human relations organization dedicated to fighting bias, bigotry and racism in America. NCCJ promotes understanding and respect among all races, religions and cultures through advocacy, conflict resolution and education." The issue-based policy statements on the site include NCCJ's December 2000 Faith Leaders Initiative Joint Statement on Racism, an "unprecedented declaration that unequivocally condemns racism as 'a problem of the heart and an evil that must be eradicated.'" "In addition to the statement, NCCJ also released a 44-page directory of faith-based promising practices that features 27 programs aimed at creating a more inclusive and just society." (From NCCJ's homepage, click on "organization", then "policy statements" to retrieve text of the joint statement and "deliverables" in PDF.) The Faith Leaders Initiative was created when NCCJ was asked by the White House to focus on the role of faith leaders in racial reconciliation across America.
• The National Urban League
  A premier civil rights organization founded in 1910, whose mission is to "assist African Americans in the achievement of social and economic equality". Headquartered in New York, the NUL serves more than 2 million people each year through its 114 affiliates in 34 states and the District of Columbia.
• Race Relations Institute
  Founded in 1942 by Charles S. Johnson, sociologist and first black president of Fisk University. Its mission is to promote racial understanding through dialogue, scholarly research, and training. The Institute held its 33rd annual conference in July, 2000. It also sponsored "Rap and Race: Educating Black Minds," a three-day conference on rap music in March 2001 and a one-day conference on reparations in February 2000.
• The Southern Poverty Law Center
  Begun in 1971 as a small civil rights law firm, the SPLC is now a national non-profit civil rights organization, internationally known for its tolerance education program ("Teaching Tolerance" project), its legal victories against white supremacist groups, its tracking of hate groups (the "Intelligence Project") and its sponsorship of the Civil Rights Memorial which celebrates the memory of 40 individuals who died during the Civil Rights Movement.
• The YWCA of the U.S.A.
  Founded in 1859, the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is the largest and oldest women's organization in the United States. It's mission is to empower women and girls and to work to eliminate racism, achieve racial justice and embrace diversity. Serving over one million women and girls in the U.S., globally, the YWCA represents more than 25 million women throughout 101 countries. The YWCA sponsors the annual "Race Against Racism" 5K run/walk and spearheads the "Stop Racism Youth Challenge" campaign.