Welcome Letter to Mayor Janey with Racial Justice Blueprint →

AFTER DECADES OF INSUFFICIENT MUNICIPAL ACTION, LAWYERS FOR CIVIL RIGHTS GIVES MAYOR JANEY BLUEPRINT FOR RACIAL JUSTICE AND IMMIGRATION REFORMLawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) congratulates and applauds Mayor Kim Janey for her historic leadership as Boston's first Black woman Mayor. For many years, LCR has tirelessly advocated for the City...

Intervention to Protect Diversity in Boston’s Exam Schools →

COALITION OF BLACK, LATINX & ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND FAMILIES OF COLOR INTERVENE TO DEFEND EQUITY IN BOSTON’S HIGHLY SELECTIVE PUBLIC SCHOOLS The NAACP Boston Branch, the Greater Boston Latino Network (GBLN), the Asian Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network (APIs CAN), the Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW), and three...

Literacy Resources →

Check out these resources for students and parents compiled by the Boston Schools Fund.

2020 Annual Report →

We are excited to share our 2020 annual report. The report is available here. Please click here to download the report.

Open Letter to Biden/Harris Transition Team →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) sent an open letter to the Biden-Harris Transition team identifying urgent legal and policy issues that are currently affecting people of color and immigrants across the country. The letter identifies seven critical areas for immediate executive action, and urges the new Administration to prioritize the...

The Repair Work Begins Now →

STATEMENT FROM NOVEMBER 7, 2020 Lawyers for Civil Rights has played a critical role over the last four years securing major legal relief, including nation-wide injunctions, against executive actions that would harm people of color and immigrants.  We've also stopped the dismantlement of long-standing federal programs designed to protect people of color and...

Exam School Admissions and COVID-19 →

The Exam School Admissions Working Group for Boston Public Schools (BPS) recently presented its recommendations to the School Committee regarding how the district should alter the 2021-2022 admissions cycle. If adopted, the recommendations would address many of concerns surrounding equity and exam school admissions, particularly in light of COVID-19. Although the...

Digital Racial Gap in Boston Public Schools →

Digital Divide in Boston Public Schools Exacerbates Disparities Along Racial Lines and Disabilities Boston City Councilor Andrea Campbell and Lawyers for Civil Rights Urge Immediate Action to Close the Digital Gap As Boston Public Schools (BPS) gets ready for its remote reopening next week with plans to phase in a hybrid...

Statement on Boston’s Exam School Admission Errors →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) has learned that, due to database errors beginning in December 2018, a number of students entitled to admission at one of Boston's three exam schools either did not receive invitations at all or were not invited to their top choice of school for both the...

Student Advocacy Groups Sue BPS and BPD for Records on Information Sharing With ICE →

Student Advocacy Groups Sue Boston Schools, Police Department to Uncover Records Showing Student Information-Sharing With ICE As police reform takes center stage at the national, state, and local levels, the Center for Law and Education, Inc. (CLE), Multicultural Education, Training, and Advocacy, Inc. (META), and Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR)...

Calling on BPS To Scrap The Test →

Lawyers for Civil Rights Calls On Boston Public Schools To Scrap Test For The O’Bryant, Boston Latin Academy and Boston Latin School In Light Of COVID-19 Pandemic and the Racial Digital Divide Urges School District To Follow Its Own Task Force Recommendation Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) calls upon Boston Public Schools (BPS) to adopt...

Defund School Police →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) commends the Minneapolis public school board for its unanimous vote last week to end financial ties with the Minneapolis Police Department after yet another unarmed Black man, George Floyd, was murdered by police. With support of students and the Minneapolis teachers union, the school board said that the...

Coronavirus Pandemic Response →

Intake The demand for our free legal services has increased exponentially since the start of the public health and economic crisis.  Since March, we have received over 350 requests for legal assistance (intakes). The estimated demographic breakdown is as follows: 55% Black; 25% Latinx; 10% Asian American; and 10% other....

Defending Diversity in Higher Education →

Coalition of Harvard Students Submit Bold Legal ResistanceAgainst Continued Attacks on School’s Affirmative Action Policies Multiethnic Group of Students and Alumni File New Legal Brief in Appeals Court to Protect Racial Diversity at Harvard and Other Schools A diverse group of Harvard students and alumni of color (student-amici) dismissed the intentions and likely...

Data on Boston’s Exam Schools →

We are in the midst of an unprecedented public health crisis affecting all families and students. We applaud the City of Boston and Boston Public Schools (BPS) for their life-saving support for families and students in this crisis. As the pandemic continues to unfold, we are well aware that urgent...

Coronavirus Legal Warriors →

As legal first responders, at a time when many doors are closing, we are opening ours wider. In response to an unprecedented need, we're adding a new coronavirus legal warrior to our team. This expansion is critical to deepening and expanding free support for affected families, including help with unemployment...

Legal Responses to COVID-19 →

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is launching a comprehensive legal and policy initiative across immigration, education, housing and the census to mitigate the effects of the pandemic on our most vulnerable communities. Specifically, we are advocating to: Secure demographic and racial data on coronavirus infections and death. Stop immigration raids,...

Emergency Measures Needed →

As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds rapidly, it is imperative that state and local policy leaders enact emergency measures that will protect the most vulnerable populations. For those with higher incomes and more social supports, the sudden changes in daily life due to the pandemic will be inconvenient and disruptive. But...