A Legacy of Leadership: Honoring The New NAACP Legal Defense Fund President

Last week, Murphy, Falcon & Murphy hosted a cocktail event at their Baltimore offices honoring University of Maryland Carey School of Law Professor Sherrilyn Ifill, who was recently appointed President and Director-Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

Through a variety of advocacy work, including legislative and educational efforts, LDF has been advancing racial equality for over 70 years. In her new role, Ms. Ifill states in an interview with The Root that she would like to, “position LDF to make as great a contribution to civil rights in the 21st century as it did in the 20th.”

“We live in a world in which decisions are made in a much more integrated way, and the decision-makers who shape the legal rights of our clients are both in and outside the courtroom. They are prison officials, school board members and prosecutors who wield enormous discretion and oversight agencies. The public — the court of public opinion, if you will — is also a constituency that must be engaged. LDF has to be involved in setting the terms of the public debate around civil rights,” she says.

We wish her the best on her new position, which begins this month.

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