. civil rights issues affecting the American people and make recommendations to the President and Congress on remedial measures.
The Voting Rights Act of 1957 signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first federal civil rights law since Reconstruction, followed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Since the Commission’s inception , our guidelines have helped shape federal civil rights laws throughout history.
First of all, the Commission’s recommendations were taken in the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Improvement Act of 2021 from the Commission’s 2018 report, Assessing Access to Minority Voting Rights in the United States; George Floyd Justice in Policing 2021 from the Commission’s 2018 report, Police Use of Force: Examining Modern Police Practice; and the SHAPE Act of 2020 from the Commission’s 2020 report, Federal #MeToo: Examining Sexual Harassment in Government Workplaces.
While other federal agencies have civil rights departments and offices, the Commission is the only independent federal body charged with studying and reporting on civil rights issues and enforcement. We are informing all branches of government in an effort to develop well-reasoned solutions to the multitude of civil rights challenges facing this nation. In addition to our national, federal perspective, our network of 56 state and territory advisory committees provides a broad perspective on state and local level concerns and recommends actions to the Commission to address them.
The Commission’s unwavering commitment to delivering on America’s great promise of equal opportunity and equal justice under the law continues, now and into the future, as we strive to close that gap and ensure full civil rights protections for all Americans.
The US Commission on Civil Rights, established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, is the only independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising the President and Congress on civil rights and reporting annually on federal civil rights enforcement. Our 56 state and territory advisory boards offer a broad perspective on civil rights issues at the state and local level. The Commission: In Our Seventh Decade, a Continuing Legacy of Civil Rights Impact. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Contact: Angelia Rorison[email protected]202-376-8371
SOURCE US Commission on Civil Rights
