IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 223
Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Lawyers’ Committee 
for Civil Rights Under Law and supporting the designation of an Equal 
Justice Day in commemoration of such anniversary. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 19, 2003
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. FROST, Mr. 
MCDERMOTT, Ms. LEE, Mr. WYNN, Ms. MCCARTHY of Missouri, and Mr. 
CASE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 40th anniversary of the founding of the 
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and 
supporting the designation of an Equal Justice Day in 
commemoration of such anniversary.
Whereas on June 21, 1963, President John F. Kennedy and 
Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy convened 244 mem-
bers of the National, State, and local private bar to pro-
vide legal representation to remedy racial discrimination 
against minority communities; 
Whereas, without President Kennedy’s vision for racial jus-
tice, the bar would have remained silent in the face of 
vocal resistance by Southern State legislatures against 
desegregation;
•HCON 223 IH 
Whereas for more than 4 decades, the Lawyers’ Committee 
for Civil Rights Under Law (hereinafter in this resolution 
referred to as ‘‘Lawyers’ Committee’’) has worked to ad-
vance the civil rights of African-Americans and other ra-
cial and ethnic minority communities in the areas of envi-
ronmental protection, employment, affirmative action, 
fair housing, education, and voting; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee operated an office in Jack-
son, Mississippi, from 1964 through 1984, which filed 
numerous cases that transformed the State, including the 
defense of civil rights demonstrators, desegregation of 
many public institutions and workforces, reformation of 
the notorious Parchman Prison, and numerous voting 
rights cases resulting in a revolution in the number of 
African-American elected officials in State positions and 
Congress; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee fought for passage of the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964, Voting Rights Act of 1965 and 
the 1982 Amendments, Fair Housing Act of 1988, Civil 
Rights Act of 1991, and National Voter Registration Act 
of 1993; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee secured a landmark, unani-
mous United States Supreme Court decision that 
strengthened first amendment protections for peaceful 
political boycotts in Claiborne Hardware Co. v. NAACP; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee created a police community 
relations program in 1965 that recruited African-Ameri-
cans for law enforcement positions and eased tensions be-
tween law enforcement officers and African-American 
communities;
•HCON 223 IH 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee defended the students of 
Jackson State University following police shootings upon 
a peaceful demonstration that killed 2 persons and 
wounded a dozen others; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee operated its Cairo, Illinois 
office from 1969 through 1972 in response to intense ra-
cial unrest and police brutality in the city; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee recruited attorneys from 
the local bar to represent African-Americans who could 
not obtain legal counsel during the 1960s; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee transformed African-Amer-
ican voting strength by litigating critical cases through-
out the South to oppose archaic voter discrimination 
laws, poll taxes, and literacy tests that prevented African-
Americans from registering and voting; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee launched the Urban Areas 
Project in 1968, which resulted in local independent 
Lawyers’ Committee offices in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, 
Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Denver, San Antonio, 
and Washington, D.C.; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee developed the Southern Af-
rican Project, which provided legal assistance to thou-
sands of political detainees and technical assistance in re-
sisting pro-apartheid legislation for more than 20 years 
and which monitored elections in Namibia in 1989 and 
elections in South Africa in 1994; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee led the defense of Execu-
tive Order 11246 when it was attacked during the 
Reagan Administration in the 1980s; 
Whereas the Lawyers’ Committee litigated a series of cases 
from the 1970s to the present that desegregated police
•HCON 223 IH 
Whereas June 21, 2003 is the 40th anniversary of the found-
ing of the Lawyers’ Committee: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That Congress—
(1) recognizes that these accomplishments of 
the Lawyers’ Committee reflect the tremendous com-
mitment to implementing justice that President 
Kennedy embarked on 40 years ago; 
(2) recognizes the achievements of the Lawyers’ 
Committee, as its staff and pro bono attorneys, cli-
ents, and friends commemorate and celebrate its 
40th anniversary; and 
(3) supports the designation of an appropriate 
day as ‘‘Equal Justice Day’’ in honor of the dedi-
cated work of the Lawyers’ Committee and the 
many hours of pro bono service offered by lawyers 
and law firms throughout this country to secure jus-
tice and equal opportunity for all.
Æ