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Civil Rights Series
The Civil Rights Series are panel events, open to the public, that highlight civil rights issues featuring notable individuals and organizations at the forefront of today’s civil rights movement.
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Understanding and Support: Fostering LGBTQ+ Allyship Philip Calabro, Safe Schools Program Facilitator, PFLAG NYC joined us for an engaging discussion on the importance of allyship and fostering support for the LGBTQ+ community. Click here for the video. |
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Guantanamo: Ending 20 Years of Injustice Brig. Gen John Baker, USMC (Ret.), who is the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of North Carolina and formerly the Chief Defense Counsel for the Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, joined us for a powerful discussion, moderated by partner Anne Tompkins, about his time at Guantanamo Bay representing detainees. Click here for the video. |
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Battling Hate State by State Jennifer Levi, the Senior Director of Transgender and Queer Rights for GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), and Scott McCoy, the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Interim Deputy Legal Director for Inclusion and Anti-Extremism Litigation joined us for an eye-opening and informative discussion on the strategy of challenging anti-transgender laws. Click here for the video. |
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A Safe Place Adam Heintz, Director of Pro Bono Services at Legal Services NYC, and Joy Wefum, Board Member at Legal Services NYC, joined us to discuss Legal Services NYC’s work fighting poverty and pursuing asylum for LGBTQ+ clients. Click here for the video. |
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Joyce Vance – Democracy 2023: Keeping the Republic Joyce Vance, MSNBC legal analyst who co-hosts the Café Insider with Preet Bharara and Sisters-in-Law podcasts, joined us for a conversation on the state of our democracy. Click here for event photos. |
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The Morning After: The Post-Dobbs Legal Landscape Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law, NYU Law School, joined us to discuss the Dobbs decision, its importance and its implications for a broad range of civil rights. Click here for the video. |
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Queeroes: The People who Made LGBTQ History Kevin Jennings, the CEO of Lambda Legal, joined us to discuss both familiar and hidden stories from the LGBTQ community that paved the way for the freedoms we all-too-often take for granted. Click here for the video. |
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Closing Rikers, Saving Lives Stanley Richards, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of The Fortune Society, and Zachary Katznelson, Executive Director of The Independent Commission on New York City Criminal Justice and Incarceration Reform, joined us to discuss the history of Riker’s Island, the formation and role of the Lippman Commission, and what’s next for Rikers and beyond. Click here for the video. |
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Civil Rights in the Crucible of COVID Hayley Gorenberg, Legal Director for the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and Natalie M. Chin, Associate Professor of Law at the CUNY School of Law, joined us to discuss the COVID pandemic’s illumination of myriad civil rights challenges implicating race, disability, gender and the environment. Click here for the video. |
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Stopping the Hate: Can We Unite Our States? Amy Feinman and Christopher Magyarics of the Anti-Defamation League joined us to discuss the continuing rise of hate crimes in the U.S. and how we can work together to combat hatred and discrimination. |
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Pride 2021: He/Him/Swim Click here for the video. |
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In the Room Where It Happened Click here for the video. |
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Securing Elections in Insecure Times October 14, 2020 Our Civil Rights Series continued with a discussion on Securing Elections in Insecure Times. Guest speakers included Leigh Chapman, Director, Voting Rights Program, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Sophia Lin Lakin, Deputy Director, Voting Rights Project at the ACLU. Click here for the video. |
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The Reasonable Officer August 5, 2020 Our Civil Rights Series continues with a discussion of Graham v. Connor, the Supreme Court case that sets the standard for a “reasonable officer” in police brutality cases. Guest speakers will include Woody Connette, the attorney who represented Graham in his initial court case; Karol Mason, President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice; and Ed Chung, Vice President for Criminal Justice Reform at American Progress. Click here for the video. |
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LGBTQ Rights and COVID-19: Lessons from the Past, Opportunities for the Future June 23, 2020 In celebration of Pride Month, the Cadwalader Center for Diversity & Inclusion (CCDI) hosted a Civil Rights Series webinar titled "Pride With GLAD - LGBTQ Rights and COVID-19: Lessons from the Past, Opportunities for the Future." Guest speakers Janson Wu and Bennett Klein of GLAD, a civil rights organization focused on LGBT communities, discussed the parallels between the COVID-19 pandemic and the HIV/AIDS crisis. Click here for the video. |
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Harvard: Affirmative Action Battleground February 25, 2020 Guest speakers Jin Hee Lee, Senior Deputy Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, and Jeannie Park, President of the Harvard Asian American Alumni Alliance and co-founder of the Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, lead a discussion of the recent decision in the Harvard Affirmative Action case. Click here for the video. |
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Can the Right to Bear Arms Coexist with Gun Control? November 6, 2019 Adam Skaggs, Chief Counsel & Policy Director of Giffords Law Center, and David Chipman, Retired ATF Special Agent and Senior Policy Advisor at Giffords, joined us to discuss the right to bear arms and gun control. Click here for the video. |
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Bearing Witness – One Survivor’s Account of the Holocaust September 19, 2019 Our 2019 Civil Rights Series continued with guest speaker Bronia Brandman, who shared her story as a Holocaust survivor. Click here for the video. |
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The Children Shall Lead Us June 12, 2019 In celebration of Pride Month, Cadwalader’s Civil Rights Series featured M. Currey Cook of Lambda Legal, a civil rights organization focused on LGBT communities. The program was followed by the 2nd Annual Fabulous Party. Click here for event photos. |
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#MeToo #YearTwo February 6, 2019 Our 2019 Civil Rights Series opened with guest speakers Carmelyn Malalis, Chair and Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, and Suzanne Goldberg, Herbert and Doris Wechsler Clinical Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, joining us for a discussion of the #MeToo Movement. Click here for the video. |
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One Person, One Vote? September 26, 2018 Guest speakers Natasha Merle, Senior Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Deuel Ross, Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; and Wendy Weiser, Director of the Democracy Program at Brennan Center for Justice, NYU School of Law, joined us for a discussion about voting rights, political gerrymandering and voter suppression. Click here for the video. To learn more about how to register to vote in the State of NY please visit the Board of Election Site: http://www.vote.nyc.ny.us/html/voters/register.shtml |
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Reports from the Trenches July 25, 2018 Vanita Gupta, President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and Rachel Tiven, CEO of Lambda Legal, joined us to review the most pressing civil rights issues of 2018. Click here for the video. |
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Closing the Borders March 8, 2018 Our Civil Rights Series continued on March 8 with "Closing the Borders." Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), joined us to discuss DACA, the border wall, due process and citizenship. Click here for the video. |
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Still Marching Into Selma January 31, 2018 Our 2018 Civil Rights Series opened with Richard Cohen, President of the Southern Poverty Law Center, discussing the organization's plans for 2018. Click here for the video. |
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Rock Paper Scissors: Religious Freedom or Equal Rights? November 1, 2017 Janson Wu, Executive Director with GLAD, and Suzanne Goldberg, Herbert and Doris Wechsler Clinical Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, discussed religious freedom and civil rights. Click here for the video. |
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Fanning the Flames: The Rise in Hate Crimes in America September 13, 2017 Kenneth Jacobson, Deputy National Director and Christopher Magyarics, Senior Investigative Researcher and Training Coordinator, of the Anti-Defamation League discussed the rise in hate crimes in America. Click here for event photos. |
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Marching for Justice: A Discussion with Women’s March Founders July 19, 2017 Three founders and organizers of the historic Women’s March - Mrinalini Chakraborty, Emma Collum and Breanne Butler - discussed the history of social activism, the genesis of the Women’s March and future plans. Click here for the video. Click here for event photos. |
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The Domino Effect: If Abortion Rights Fall, LGBT Rights Are Next June 20, 2017 Nancy Northup, President & CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Rachel Tiven, CEO of Lambda Legal, led an open discussion of LGBT rights, reproductive rights and the intersectionality of each group’s civil rights. Click here for the video. Click here for event photos. |
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Civil Rights in 2017 May 10, 2017 Vanita Gupta, former head of the Civil Rights division at the U.S. Department of Justice and current President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, discussed civil rights law in the Obama Administration. Click here for event photos. |
