Legal Defense Fund in Drive to Educate Southern Negroes to Rights Act Job Section

    10 Columbus Circle 
New York, N.Y. 10019 
JUdson 6-8397 

NAACP 

Legal Defense and Educational Fund 
PRESS RELEASE 

OTe Aline Knight Chalmers 
Director-Counsel ; 

Jack Greenberg i 

FOR RELEASE 
Saturday 
July 10, 1965 

LEGAL DEFENSE FUND IN DRIVE 
TO EDUCATE SOUTHERN NEGROES 
TO "RIGHTS ACT JOB SECTION 

@ 
NEW YORK---The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. has 

launched a drive to speed enforcement of the fair employment 

section of the Civil Rights Act in 10 southern states. 

Negro law students are now working in southern states, th 

leaders of local civil rights organizations, in the education of 

the Negro community to tools now available for winning bett r jobs. 

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act went into effect July 2nd, 

one year after passage of the Act. 2 : 

The delay was designed to give employers an opportunity # = 

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prepare for change. 

This project, of the Legal Defense Fund, which serves asi the 

legal arm of the entire civil rights movement, is under direction 

of Fund Assistant Counsel Michael Meltsner and LeRoy Clark. 5 
f 

Miss Ruth Abram, a student at Sarah Lawrence College, New York, 

is working as coordinator. 3 

In their joint announcement, Attorneys Clark and Meltsner 

stressed that: 

Assist Local Leadership 

"This project hopes to stimulate local leadership and 

community training. 

"Our law students are presently meeting with local Negro 

leaders, speaking before church, business and social groups, going 

to local news media----all in an attempt to educate the Negro 

community to the potential of Title VII. 

“Many are working with local NAACP branches, but they are also 

working with all the major national civil rights groups and many 

local civic’ organizations. 

(more) 

Jesse DeVore, Jr., Director of Public Information—Night Number 212 Riverside 9-8487 



Legal Defense Fund in Drive ~2- July 10, 1965 
To Educate Southern Negroes 
To 'Rights Act Job Section “ad 

Concentration On Cities } 

"They are also working closely with attorneys of the Legal 

Defense Fund. The students are concentrating mainly in largé 

southern cities, but will go wherever there are patterns of 

discrimination, ‘ 

"If Negro employees meet discrimination from employers, unions 

j or employment agencies, they will be advised 

\ of their rights to file complaints of discrimination (under 

‘Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) with the United States 

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. F 

Agency of Conciliation 

"If the Commission is unable to obtain voluntary compliance 

(it only has the power to conciliate) within 30 days, the Legal 

Defense Fund will be prepared to file suit on behalf of the Negro 

employee," the attorneys concluded. 

The new law states that it is now unlawful for an employer, 

on the grounds of race, color, religion, sex or national origins 

to refuse to hire or to discharge or otherwise discriminate 

against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, 

conditions or privileges of employment or to limit, segregate or 

classify on such grounds. 

An employment agency is forbidden to refer for employment on 

these grounds or to classify or to refuse to refer on such a basis. 

Labor organizations are forbidden to deny membership or other= 

wise discriminate in any way which would affect adversely an 

individual's status as an employee or applicant for employment. 

Virginia 

The Legal Defense Fund's Virginia worker is Richard J. Hopkins, 

c/o NAACP State Conference Office, 301 East Clay Street, Richmond, 

Virginia; who is working closely with W. Lester Banks, executive 

secretary of the Virginia NAACP, 

Young Hopkins, who is 25-years old; graduated magna cum laude 

from Morgan State College, Baltimore and is now enrolled at Howard 

University Law School. 2 
(more) 



Legal Defense Fund in Drive -3- July 10, 1965 
To Educate Southern Negroes 
To *Rights Act Job Section 

Alabama § 

Isaiah Madison, a former SNCC worker during his undergraduate 

years, before enrollment at Howard University Law School was reared 

in Holly Springs, Mississippi and is now working out of Mobile at 

P, 0, Box 1091, Mobile, Alabama. 

South Carolina 

Columbia, S. C., is heacdcuarters for ilarvin E. Maynor, who is 

also a student at Howard University Law School. Mr. Maynor served 

on the committee which formed the Human Rights Appeal that led to 

uniting of Atlanta's Negro students prior to the first sit-ins 

there. 

He may be reached at c/o NAACP, 2022 Taylor Street, Columbia, 

South Carolina. 

Tennessee 

Delbert Spurlock, a graduate of Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, 

is working out of Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Spurlock worked in 

Mississippi during the summer cf 1963 and has worked on the staff 

of ‘the WASHINGTON POST. He may be reached at c/o Mr. Looby, 

McClellan - Looby Bldg., Charlotte at Fourth, Nashville, Tennessee. 

Georgia 

; Beverly Whatley, is the only woman field worker on the! Legal 

Defense Fund's employment project. She is working from Atlanta, 

ir, Howard Moore, 859!4 Hunter Street, Atlanta, Georgia, 

is also her home city. 
‘iss Whatley was president of the student body at Spelman 

Louisiana 

A leader in the anti-segregation demonstrations in Baton 

Rouge, La., before his expulsion from Southern University, D'Army 

Bailey went on to graduate from Clark University, Worcester, Mass. 

Mr. Bailey is working from New Orleans at c/o Mr. A, P. 

“STureaud,; 1821 Orleans Ave., New Orleans, La. 

Ryo" 

(more) 

i] 



LegailDefense Fund in Drive  <4-; July. 10, 1965 
To Educate Southern Negroes 
To 'Rights*Act Job Section 

Mississippi 

Ainortherner, Earl L. Harris hails from Rockville Centre, 

Long Giana. He is now working from c/o Miss Marian Wright, 

538% ferrish Street, Jackson, Mississippi. Mr. Harris is also 

studying at Howard University Law School and worked with SNCC 

during the Cambridge, Md. demonstrations. He also worked with 

SNCC in Mississippi. 

Arkansas 

pgkanzas complaints are being handled by the Rev, Cecil A, 

Cone, pastor of Union AME Church at 1500 Ringo Street, Little Rock, 

Arkansas, 

North Carolina 

Adam Stein, a student at George Washington University Law 

School, is Legal Defense Fund worker in North Carolina. He may 

be reached at 405!4 East Trade Street, Charlotte, North Carolina 

c/o Mr. Julius Chambers. 

Florida 

Ira T. Simmons, 625 West Union Street, Jacksonville, c/o Mr. 

Earl Johnson, is the Fund's Florida worker. 

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