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Multiracial protest is a demonstration of the vitality of and desire for public life and public engagement, she says.

She is the author of On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the Twenty-First Century, which examines the lingering racial trauma resulting from the lynching of almost 5,000 African Americans between 1890 and 1960.

Tiktoker and 2Pac lookalike Ahuofe suddenly dies, BOG warns Ghanaians against using cedi notes for bouquets, hampers but fails to explain why, Ghanas speaker of parliament slams Nana Addo and Kamala Harris over anti-LGBTQ+ bill, ECG disconnects Osu Police Barracks from power supply over illegal connection, Sam George warns of political suicide if anti-LGBT bill is not signed by Akufo-Addo, Al Jazeeras Gold Mafia exposes $480 million annual gold smuggling operation from Ghana. I first met Ifill when we were both professors, teaching and researching in higher education while looking for opportunities to expand the reach of our classrooms. Our parents taught all of us to strive for excellence, to be uncompromising in our standards, to hold tight to our faith, to fight for what we believe-and to have a sense of humor while doing it. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. Shes transformed the way we think about legal strategy when it comes to race. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, There were three newspapers every day. To remember to laugh and to sing and to dance, to bring together family and friends, and to walk in the extraordinary example she set for all of us. This public figure who harnesses mass media to shape narratives of racial struggle is the beloved cousin of the late Gwen Ifill, the first Black woman to host a nationally televised political news program. That is the symbol of the ways our country has been willing to sacrifice the fundamental pillars of democracy rather than confront and end racism. She will need to reserve her energy. It's not sustainable. I study assiduously to become familiar with the last decade of LDF advocacy for overpoliced individuals and communities.

Ad Choices. Its a very exciting moment, Ifill says of the transition. She credits Jamaicas Hillcrest High School (full disclosure: this reporter was one of her English teachers) with setting her on the path to higher education. Mike White (actor): 12 key facts you need to know, Marcel Marceau family, wife , children, parents, siblings. We are unapologetically a racial justice organization. It was a difficult time, and we did some amazing work. Sherrilyn Ifill reflects on the legacy of her cousin, political journalist Gwen Ifill, who died on November 14 following a groundbreaking career that included stints at The Washington Post, The New York Times, NBC, and PBS.

(Before Ketanji Brown Jacksons nomination this year, Ifill was said to be on the short list to fill retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyers seat. Todays biggest stories, from pop culture to politicsdelivered straight to your inbox. She showed us how to listen, how to disagree firmly, but respectfully.

The senior attorneys in voting rights, Lani Guinier and Pamela Karlan, were departing to go into academia, but they continued to work with me on key LDF voting rights cases for two years in a supervisory and consultative role., My jaw drops when Ifill names Guinier and Karlan.

No problems, the neighbor, a man in his 30s, said. Part of my job is to extend the LDFs credibility to ensure that ideas some describe as radical are not summarily dismissed, she says. Im excited to think about how I will continue to build on doing the work of racial justice and democracy in this country. Ifill, 58, will step down as president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in the spring of 2022, she told The Washington Post. Olins attorney, Michael Horn, could not immediately be reached for comment. When you support The American Prospect, youre supporting fellow readers who arent able to give, and countering the class system for information. Were having a long, overdue period of self-confrontation. But as we enter 2022, it seems like were receding further from that pivotal moment that begged for sustainable, equitable change. Personal life Ifill married Ivo Knobloch in 1988, and they have three daughters together. The late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in state in the U.S. Capitol in September 2020.

Olin shot Ifill in the back on July 26 at the 91st Avenue home Ifill shared with Olins daughter, according to police and a previous news report. Igor Vysotsky cause of death: How did Igor Vysotsky die?

13h ago. Shes also the inspiration for staff, the community, and the countryso part of the job is preserving your energy, optimism, inspiration, and health. The key is to do the moment youre assigned. Our parents could never have imagined the fruits of their journey-a journey they took on faith and with courage that is now impossible to imagine. The youngest of 10 childreneight girls and two boysIfill was a girl when her mother passed away. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. With the strong staff weve built over the years, I believe Janai is in an excellent position to do all of this. I want to play offense, and my focus is on those who are the most marginalizedat the intersections of race and class, and race and poverty, she said. It is not for people who want to be on TV.

People underestimate the power of Black women to support each other, to have each other's back, to work together, to not compete with one another, but rather to join forces, to amplify their powers and abilities, says Nelson.

It was her father who ensured the arrival of those three papers.

That we would be able to use our voice to curate the truth about racial discrimination and injustice for the American public. That did not happen. WebSherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel Emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), has dedicated her life's work to fighting for racial justice and equality. They also believed deeply in the idea of America-even with all its flaws, and they made us, their many children, believe in it too. Its a trifecta of assault on our democracy. Each of them-and from time to time I had a chance to be part of this magical circle-was beloved by Gwen. (212) 998-6100, Sherrilyn Ifill 87 and Marta Cartabia to address graduates at 2023 Convocation. On Monday, March 14, Ifill will pass the mantle to her longtime deputy and current associate director-counsel, Janai Nelson. Watching her, I can see the smart little Black girl from New York who had little money but plenty of love, and many books; who grew up to litigate, teach, write, lead, organize, strategize, fight, and win. But shes fighting for the same civil rights that she would want a Supreme Court justice to uphold. She comes to get results., One of the most important lessons she models for our staff is the importance of seeing the through line, says Nelson.

Search instead in Creative? This story has been shared 159,617 times. That she loved Scrabble. This story is an adaptation of Sherrilyn Ifill's eulogy for Gwen Ifill, delivered on November 19, 2016, at Metropolitan A.M.E Church in Washington, D.C. Sherrilyn Ifill is a law professor and president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. While veteran leaders can become distracted or even threatened by younger, newer energy, Ifill seems more invested in LDFs sustainability and growth.

Sherrilyn Ifill is smiling as she tells me about a childhood both difficult and enriching.

Under Janais leadership, with refreshed vision and boldness, therell be more difficult moments ahead.

Her sense of justice does not waver; it is her inheritance. When Sherrilyn Ifill passes the torch to Janai Nelson on Monday, March 14, it will mark the first woman-to-woman succession in the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's 81 years. Sherrilyn has done an extraordinary job of articulating the specific threats and challenges to communities of color in voting, education, policing and in other settings, explains Bryan Stevenson, famed civil rights attorney and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. Meet AAVC's New Executive Director Lisa Tessler, Exploring Transfer: Encouraging Four-Year Degrees for 30 Years, Vassar Basketball Coach Leads Team to Silver in Maccabi Games, Angela Davis Speaks on Anniversary of Women's Studies, Meet Safety and Security Director Arlene Sabo, Glass Artist Dale Chihuly Presents a New View of Ulysses, Shaping the Civil Rights Discourse: Sherrilyn Ifill '84.

LDF launched the Thurgood Marshall Policy Institute in September with a $5 million seed grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies. Sherrilyn and Gwen Ifill arent siblings as many assume with their shared last name. However, they are first cousins, and Sherrilyn even delivered a eulogy for Gwen at her funeral service. Sherrilyn Ifill was born on December 17, 1962, also in New York. Nelson: I grew up with a strong sense of justice and fairness, though I didnt have the vocabulary to describe what I saw as deep racial inequities around me.

Ifill: Listen, listen, heres what I got: I think we all have done some recalibration since COVID. I want to speak briefly about your careers as civil rights lawyers. Im going to miss that greatly. Marshall, who argued the watershed Brown v. Board of Education case before the U.S. Supreme Court, later went on to become his nations first African American U.S. Supreme Court justice. Veterans David Carrell '16 and Joshua Ridley '17 cofounded Operation Veteran Admission, a program to help veterans enroll in college.

In his first public remarks after he was arraigned, Trump bashed Judge Juan Merchan as a "Trump-hating judge, with a Trump-hating wife and family." I certainly could not have asked for a better person to work with and support than Sherrilyn. They are institutions in the literal sense of the word. And it all came from Gwen. In 1959, Prince Edward County, Virginia, chose to close its public schools for five years rather than comply with the courts ruling that they must integrate, she says. Sherrilyn Ifil has three children with her husband Ivo Knobloch who married in 1988.

), Nelson, LDFs second-in-command, has been working right alongside Ifill for eight years as shes led research on education equity and the legal strategy for the 2020 National Urban League v. Trump case, which declared the former presidents ban on inclusion training in the workplace unconstitutional. She was born on December 17, 1962, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. My cousin, Gwen, and I were the daughters of two immigrant brothers, who were driven by their faith in God, their love for family, for black people, and by their ambition and determination. She is the kind of smart person who makes other smart people nervous, not because she is cruel but because she is so good at what she does. Ifills expansive perspective and her commitment to seeing the through line, as Nelson puts it, from past to present has made her one of the rare institutional figures whose work feels relevant, not out of touch or high-minded. That means we have insights into this country that many dont, and our ability to bring that to the table is our secret sauce.

Im also excited to be passing the reins to Janai, who I feel is so powerfully equipped to lead us in this next phase of the organizations life. But Ifill has picked her battles well. The same said about their father Ivo Knobloch. Sherrilyn Ifill (@SIfill_) April 4, 2023. Despite her many achievements, Ifill admits that shes fallen short of what she inscribed in the Hillcrest High School yearbook: first black female Supreme Court Justice. There has to be a piece of you thats out of touch, thats for you.

Theres a very strong relationship and deep, deep feeling that this is a sacred institution that has done incredible work to develop and protect our democracy, to hold it accountable, to stretch it. Youve both worked together now for eight years. But Ifill is undeterred. A shooting victims last words as he lay dying in his Woodhaven home helped the NYPD catch the Queens woman now charged with his July murder, court documents reveal.

Education was a kind of secular religion. How do we get back on track?

But when you hear people talk about how the murder of Emmett Till affected how they thought about themselves as Black people, and why we had to fight against Jim Crow in ways that perhaps we hadnt before 1955, we know none of it is in vain. Because it derived from her excellence, her hard work, her uncompromising standards.

As much as it pains me to see long lines of people, wearing masks, standing on their feet for hours, risking their lives to cast a vote; these images are a snapshot of the nobility of Black people..

Editors Note: Sherrilyn Ifill is the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund Inc. (LDF).The views expressed in this commentary are hers. Nelson: People underestimate the power of Black women to support each other, to have each others back, to work together, to not compete with one another, but rather to join forces, to amplify their powers and abilities. This is a BETA experience. She also authored an essay in The New York Times in February 2021, arguing that lawyers enabled President Trump in an assault on American democracy.. Veterans share their memoriesand their painin a writers' workshop called "Voices From War," run by Kara Frye Krauze '93.

The age, educational background, social media handles, and childhood life are all not known about Sherrilyn Ifills three children.

That was our space., A childhood spent intellectually sparring with her father honed Ifills early skills and ambitions as a litigator.

So we must point out when radical viewpoints are centered in ways that they shouldnt be because that gives a false perception of our potential. That was something I wanted, and that was possible.

Following a 20-year hiatus from the institution in order to teach law at the University of Maryland, where she accomplished groundbreaking work centered on civil rights, discrimination, and lynchings in the 21st century, Ifill returned in 2013 to take the reins as the seventh president and director-counsel of LDF. The decision ensured that Black and Hispanic voters have the same protections when voting for state trial court judges that they have when voting for other offices, extending protections found in the Voting Rights Act. The standards were very high. The following year, we'd pile in our car and drive to Gwen's family home. Eight people were killed.

Sherrilyn Ifill, one of the nations leading civil rights lawyers, spoke on campus as the featured speaker at the re-launch of UCLAs Thurgood Marshall Lecture Series. The former law professor is still very much a teacher. She was the daughter of immigrants-her father and mine Sherrilyn Ifill was returning to Baltimore from Washington on Amtrak train 80 Friday, as she often does, when she says a junior conductor approached and asked her to give up her seat. Sherrilyn emphasizes the connection between the LDFs history and the multidimensional work we do today.. This November, she was elected to the National Constitution Centers Board of Trustees.

What have been some of the challenges youve had to navigate over the years? Springfield, Massachusetts. We are at a crossroads, and we have to choose what type of multiracial, multiethnic democracy we will be because we will certainly be a multiracial, multiethnic society. Im incredibly proud of what Ive been able to accomplish at the helm.

We have denigrated, and receded from, these services because we associate them with Black people.. Sherrilyn Ifill, the president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, has been named as a possible candidate to replace Stephen Breyer on the U.S. Supreme Court. So I no longer work on Saturdays. From Silicon Valley CEOs to U.S. senators to Selma pastorsserious changemakers want Ifill on their side of the table. Ifill: First, probably a couple of nights sleep. When Thurgood Marshall founded the Legal Defense and Educational Fund under the NAACP umbrella in 1940, America was embroiled in racial discrimination and early fights for civil rights. It will be a historic event: the first woman-to-woman succession in the organizations storied 81-year history. Its not about whether it has just meant that Black people have been subjected to police violence or inadequate education or housing discrimination; our very democracy I think as we have been able to see over the past five years is weakened by our failure to address and confront the role that race plays in our society. As an example, she references Russias purported 2016 election interference strategy largely centering around exploiting racial divisionsa known weakness for America.

Ifill joined the faculty of the University of Maryland School of Law, where she taught civil procedure, constitutional law and a variety of seminars.

Only after a week of research do I fully understand what Ifill has shared in a single exchange. Ad Choices, History in the Making: Sherrilyn Ifill in Conversation With Janai Nelson. Nelson: I agree.

LDF has that. These moments left an indelible impression on Ifill and helped bolster her conviction that legal issues matter and play a role in improving everyones life. She was among the group of lawyers named to study the Supreme Court by President Biden in 2021, The Associated Press reported. As civil rights titan Sherrilyn Ifill passes the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund leadership baton to Janai Nelson, she reflects on her legacy and ongoing, At this particular moment in our country, Gwen Ifill represented the most American of success stories. I was completely green, Ifill admits.

Institutionally, I knew what I wanted to create in the organization and the role that I wanted LDF to be in, in the democratic infrastructure of this country. That people would want to know how we saw a particular situation. And because she had to start over in so many places, she knew how to make instant connections with people.

You couldnt find anything in newspapers. Education equity is under attack. Lauren Silver, Cox Media Group National Content Desk, The 2022 Supreme Court Potential Nominees: What you need to know, KIRO 7 News Seattle facebook feed(Opens a new window), KIRO 7 News Seattle twitter feed(Opens a new window), KIRO 7 News Seattle youtube feed(Opens a new window), On the Courthouse Lawn: Confronting the Legacy of Lynching in the 21st Century, CashApp founder stabbed to death in San Francisco, Seattle DoorDasher falls victim to sophisticated hack, loses $800 in minutes, Car slams into Auburn home, killing 1, critically injuring 3, Woman escapes after being held hostage in Chinatown-International District apartment. It takes an entire ecosystem to make transformational change, Ifill says, explaining to me the role of the NAACP LDF in the current movement for Black lives. The same, of course, could be said of Ifill herself. Victim Shaka Ifill, 40, knew he was dying as he told arriving cops that hed been shot in the back by his girlfriends mother, Suzette Olin, according to the new criminal complaint against her. Ifill could be the first Black woman to take her rightful seat on the bench.

Not because I have a contract, but because the idea of the book has been building in me for some time. When so many of our nations schools are in such abysmal condition, when the economic prospects for millions of African American families are bleak, and when our housing segregation remains unabated across the country, the battle for equal rights endures, she says. In a few minutes, Ifill weaves together narrative, history, theory, and law, while I scribble notes as fast as I can. >> Related: Justice Stephen Breyer retiring; Biden vows to nominate Black woman to Supreme Court. You have a fire in you that desires a vehicle for the change you want to see. Lets talk about the political climate this transition is happening in: Voting rights are in jeopardy. Following their murders, there was a renewed urgency to pass policing reform. I have seven sisters. That we could count on her to get down to James Brown at parties at our homes. Its incredibly painful, and there are no easy answers., The Legal Defense Fund, where she has served as president since 2012, plays a leadership role in tackling these issues. Sherrilyn Ifill and Janai Nelson in action in Selma, Alabama. The second time we speak, the court is on both of our minds; weve just learned of the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She was pretty decent. I think many people hoped it would just happen after Brown or hoped it would just happen after the civil rights movement that people would just hit the reset button, but it turns out that race and racism is so deep in the foundations of this country that its going to take a great deal more. She describes her forthcoming book as a blueprint for how to create a renewed and refreshed vision of what it means to be a responsible citizen in this democracy andthe things that we simply cant countenance if we have any hope of saving our Republic., While it may be tempting to view Ifills and LDFs work as exclusively focused on the interests of Black and Brown people, their fight has indeed been a broader one seeking full equality for all. The need to have a strong defense and a visionary offense is something I'm most excited about doing.