The national holiday Juneteenth commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, marking the emancipation of enslaved Black people in Texas on June 19, 1865. This Juneteenth 2025, we recognize the long-lasting, pernicious effects of slavery and Jim Crow, as well as the ongoing struggle for equality and justice for Black Americans.
Since 1968, Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) has pursued strategic litigation to advance education equity, housing justice, disability rights, youth justice, and criminal legal system reform. We remain resolved in our mission to make equality and justice real for Black communities in DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV).
Bryan Stevenson Presented with 2025 Wiley A. Branton Award for Lifetime Achievement and Leadership in Civil Rights
At the May 28 Wiley A. Branton Awards luncheon, Bryan Stevenson was honored with the 2025 Wiley A. Branton Award for lifetime achievement in civil rights law and leadership. Before a rapt audience of 750, Bryan Stevenson reminded the nation’s leading law firms of our “identity” as fighters for the rule of law. He closed by sharing his grandmother’s challenge to“Always do the right thing, even when it’s the hard thing.”
Left to right: Ted Howard (Wiley partner and WLC board member), Bryan Stevenson (Equal Justice Initiative Founder and Director), Avis Buchanan (WLC board chair), Joanne Lin (WLC Executive Director).
Shenandoah High School Students and Virginia NAACP Honored with Alfred McKenzie Award
Left to right: Shenandoah students A.D. Carter and Brianna Brown; Kaitlin Banner (WLC Deputy Legal Director), Rev. Cozy Bailey (Virginia NAACP President).
At the Wiley A. Branton Awards luncheon, the Virginia NAACP and Shenandoah high school students were presented with the Alfred McKenzie Award. The McKenzie Award honors Washington Lawyers’ Committee clients whose courage and dedication have advanced civil rights.
In 2024, the Shenandoah County (VA) school board renamed two schools after Confederate generals. WLC, with pro bono co-counsel Covington & Burling, immediately filed suit on behalf of five students and the Virginia NAACP, alleging that forcing Black students to attend a school honoring Confederate leaders creates a school environment that denies them an equal opportunity to an education and violates their right to Equal Protection (14th Amendment) and right to free speech (First Amendment).
In January 2025, a federal court denied the school board’s motion to dismiss, allowing the students’ constitutional claims to move forward. The case has been scheduled for a July 1 summary judgment hearing. Read more here and here.
WLC Sues the Trump Administration to Preserve Temporary Protected Status for Afghans and Cameroonians in the US
In May, CASA filed a lawsuit—joined by the Washington Lawyers’ Committee and the Georgetown Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection—to challenge the Department of Homeland Security’s unlawful attempt to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for thousands of Afghans and Cameroonians in the DMV and across the US.
The lawsuit asserts that DHS failed to publish a notice in the Federal Register and follow basic legal procedures required by law. O.M., a Maryland resident and home health worker from Cameroon, faces the risk of returning to a country experiencing armed conflict and persecution. Read the full press release.
WLC Sues Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services on Behalf of 14-Year-Old Boy
A new WLC lawsuit exposes the brutal reality inside the D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services. The complaint alleges that a staff member violently assaulted a 14-year-old boy—fracturing his jaw, strangling him, and leaving him covered in blood—while a supervisor stood by. Read the complaint here.
Crucial Funding for Legal Services for Low-Income DC Residents is Threatened by the District’s Budget Crisis
The Access to Justice (ATJ) Initiative funds critical legal services that protect the civil rights of DC families and communities. WLC relies on this ATJ funding to protect workers’ rights, advance housing justice, and promote disability rights. The DC Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget provides for $10.45 million for ATJ funding—far short of the $32 million needed for full funding for all DC legal services. WLC’s leadership and board are calling upon the DC Council to fill the gap and provide full ATJ funding. Read more about how ATJ makes our work possible.
Proskauer Rose
In 2024, WLC and Proskauer reached a settlement in a class action lawsuit on behalf of DC tenants of the Meridian Heights building, who have endured years of hazardous housing conditions including mold, vermin infestations, and lack of heat and hot water. The settlement requires a cash payment, continued remediation, and other benefits to the tenants.
Thank you to the outstanding Proskauer pro bono team!
Zuckerman Spaeder
We commend and thank the Zuckerman Associates Campaign team for raising nearly $22,000 to support WLC’s strategic litigation advancing fair housing, workers’ rights, disability rights, education equity, immigrant justice, women’s rights, and criminal legal system reform. The Zuckerman team finished 2nd among small DC law firms.
Chantale Fiebig, WLC board member, serves as the Co-Managing Partner of the DC office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Recognized as a “Winning Litigator” by The National Law Journal, she has twice been named one of the 500 Leading Lawyers in America by Lawdragon. She has also been named a “Leading Lawyer” by The Legal 500 in Dispute Resolution: Leading Trial Lawyers. In addition, she was recognized as “Managing Partner of the Year” by Corporate Counsel’s Women, Influence & Power in Law.
Chantale previously served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan. She also served as a judicial clerk for Judge Rosemary Barkett on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
A Stanford Law graduate, Chantale has focused her WLC pro bono work on police abuse cases.
J.D. Williams, a Faegre Drinker associate, focuses her practice on advising registered investment companies, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds on regulatory, compliance, and business matters. Her work involves preparing SEC filings, coordinating regulatory compliance, handling SEC inquiries, and developing compliance systems. She also drafts and negotiates investment management agreements, supports mutual fund boards, and tracks regulatory changes to ensure ongoing compliance.
As a WLC Associate Trustee, J.D. co-led the Faegre Associates’ Campaign. “Supporting WLC is a natural extension of why I became a lawyer—to help dismantle systemic barriers and expand access to justice. WLC’s commitment to equity and focus on litigation make it an honor to give both my time and resources to its work.”
Leslie Faith Jones is the Supervising Counsel for the WLC Prisoners’ Rights team, which uses strategic litigation to enforce the civil rights of people incarcerated in the DC Corrections Department and the federal Bureau of Prisons. She previously litigated cases protecting the constitutional rights of adults and youth in detention centers, jails, and prisons at Prisoners’ Legal Services NY, Montgomery County Office of the Public Defender (PA), and Southern Poverty Law Center (AL, FL, MS).
Leslie Faith is a graduate of Spelman College, Georgia Tech, and Temple University School of Law.
Coming Down the Pike
WLC Is Coming to Your Neighborhood!
In 2025, WLC house parties will take place throughout the DMV. Our staff and board members will discuss our work protecting our immigrant neighbors, defending DC autonomy, and safeguarding civil rights for all.
Nov. 15: Brightwood/16th Street Heights (NW DC)
Any questions? Please contact Development Director Melissa Nussbaum at melissa_nussbaum@washlaw.org or 202/319-1070.
Board Co-Chairs Joseph Davis (Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP) Avis Buchanan (retired) Board of Directors
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs works to create legal, economic, and social equity for low-income marginalized communities in Maryland, Virginia, Washington DC, and across the country. We partner with individuals and communities facing discrimination and with the legal community to achieve justice. We bring strategic litigation to advance fair housing, disability rights, education equity, workers’ rights, immigrant justice, women’s rights, and criminal legal system reform.
