Does the new Democratic majority in Congress present a rare opportunity for civil rights advocates to go on the offensive?

EJS thinks so, and is joining our colleagues across the country in calling on Congress to pass key civil rights legislation. "Civil rights folks across the nation are unified in calling on Congress to recognize that discrimination still exists, that we have not achieved a level playing field, and that legislative protections have been eroded by an increasingly conservative judiciary," said EJS President Eva Paterson.

In January a coalition of civil rights organizations outlined key legislative priorities for the 110th Congress. In a letter to congressional representatives, the organizations urged Congress to examine the performance of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice and the United States Civil Rights Commission, which were formed 50 years ago with the passage of the 1957 Civil Rights Act.

The letter, sent on behalf of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), also highlighted pressing legislative items that the new Congress needs to adopt including measures to: ensure equal and effective remedies for victims of discrimination; fund and improve the No Child Left Behind Act to address the graduation rate crisis among students of color and low income; provide comprehensive immigration reform; remove unnecessary obstacles to federal prosecution of hate and bias-motivated crimes by passing the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act; improve the security of voting systems; ensure enforcement of fair housing laws by public and private agencies; eliminate disparities in health care access, research, and quality; and fully fund the Census Bureau to provide for outreach and partnership programs to reach minority and other "hard-to-count" communities in 2010.

LCCR also hosted "The Call for Civil Rights," which was a telephone conference to further address the civil rights agenda of this Congress. More than 300 individuals and organizations from 38 states participated in the call. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) joined the discussion and commended participants for "living visible sermons [for justice and equality] in their own lives and in the lives of others."

Durbin, who is also the Assistant Majority Leader, echoed the need to be on the civil rights offense at this time in our nation's history. He dismissed the right-wing criticism he has received for listening to the civil rights community stating that those who criticize him "do not understand the life journey that many have traveled."

Durbin explained that in his home state of Illinois, "it was just 28 years ago that we elected our first African American to a statewide office [Controller]." Today, he noted, "two of the biggest vote getters are Jesse White [Secretary of State] and Barak Obama [fellow Senator]."

Still, Durbin told the civil rights advocates that his Senate colleagues need to heed the "first, do no harm" pledge of the Hippocratic Oath by stopping those policies that are doing harm. To that end, the Hate Crime Bill, comprehensive immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, and engaging in a close examination of the high turnover rates and drift away from protection of people of color in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, are significant items on the congressional agenda.