Recollection A Civil Rights Legal Archive

Smith v. Allwright: The LDF Voting Rights Case That “Changed the Whole Complexion of the South”

Sharing Our History, Informing Our Present, Envisioning Our Future

Recollection: A Civil Rights Legal Archive celebrates the history of civil rights in the United States by sharing powerful stories and historical documents from the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) Archives. Founded by Thurgood Marshall on March 20, 1940, LDF has played a pivotal role in advancing education equity, political participation, criminal justice, and economic justice for people of color.

As one of the country’s oldest and foremost civil rights legal organizations, LDF is uniquely positioned to preserve and share the inner thinking of legendary thought-leaders and legal minds. Our collection also highlights the challenges and bravery of Black communities across the 20th and 21st centuries.

The searchable archival collection on Recollection: A Civil Rights Legal Archive consists of oral histories, legal briefs, press releases, editorial content, and correspondence related to more than 6,000 cases LDF has litigated since its founding. This is a living project as we are continuously adding newly digitized documents and stories.

We hope these primary source materials inform the current efforts of litigators, advocates, and activists to advance civil rights. Now more than ever, it is critical that we all have access to reliable information about our nation’s fight for equality and justice.

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Our latest stories

Voter Suppression Playbook: Tactics from the 1980s Recycled to Silence Black Votes

November 01, 2024

Attacks on voting rights are not new. Explore one fight against voter suppression from the archives and learn about LDF’s current work to support voters.
Chisom v. Roemer: Extending Voting Rights to Judicial Elections

October 28, 2024

The landmark LDF victory that helped put Black justices on the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Lani Guinier: The Civil Rights Litigator Who “Dared to Be Powerful”

September 23, 2024

The LDF voting rights lawyer who survived a stinging political defeat and became the first tenured Black woman at Harvard Law School.
Smith v. Allwright: The LDF Voting Rights Case That “Changed the Whole Complexion of the South”

September 22, 2024

The case that took Thurgood Marshall before the Supreme Court for the first time and declared white primaries illegal.