Barbara Arnwine
Encyclopedia
Barbara R Arnwine is the executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law since 1989. Born in southern California, Arnwine is a graduate of Scripps College
and Duke University School of Law
. After graduating from Duke Law School, she stayed in Durman and worked for Durham Legal Assistance Program and as a Reginald Huber Smith fellow. She moved on to the legal service’s head office in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1979, working on affirmative action policies, reviewing contracts, and legal aid programs. In the 1980s she served as executive director of the Boston Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.
She became renowned for her work on the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991
. She also focused on international civil rights matters, serving as a Member of the advance team of the Lawyers’ Committee's South Africa Electoral Observers Delegation. In 1995, she served as the National Convener of the National Conference on African American Women and the Law and led a delegation to the NGO Forum and Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Her involvement contributed to a United Nations
Platform for Action that provides protection for women against multiple forms of discrimination. In 2001, Ms. Arnwine helped draft provisions of the program for action for the UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination,and Xenophobia in Durban,South Africa.
She is a leader of Election Protection (EP), the nation's largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition, launched in 2004 to assist historically disenfranchised persons to exercise the fundamental right to vote. In 2008, EP involved more than 10,000 volunteers and the EP hotline received more than 240,000 calls.
Arnwine has received numerous awards, including the Gertrude E. Rush Award and the National Black Law Students Association’s Sadie T.M. Alexander Award in 2011, the Washington D.C. Freedom’s Sisters Award and the Keeper of the Flame Award from the Boston Lawyers' Committee in 2009, the Rockwood Institute Leadership Fellow in 2008, the National Bar Association
's Equal Justice Award and the C. Francis Stradford Award in 2007, and the Charlotte E. Ray Award from the Greater Washington Area Chapter, Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association in 2002. She was a recipient of the 2011 Gruber Prize for Justice
.
She is also a frequent conference orator, writing numerous articles and is regularly featured by media outlets such as the American Bar Association’s Human Rights magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, BET< TV One, and other national and local media.
Scripps College
Scripps College is a progressive liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California, United States. It is a member of the Claremont Colleges. Scripps ranks 3rd for the nation's best women's college, ahead of Barnard College, Mount Holyoke College, and Bryn Mawr College at 23rd on the list for...
and Duke University School of Law
Duke University School of Law
The Duke University School of Law is the law school and a constituent academic unit of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law began as the Trinity College School of Law in 1868. In 1924, following the renaming of Trinity...
. After graduating from Duke Law School, she stayed in Durman and worked for Durham Legal Assistance Program and as a Reginald Huber Smith fellow. She moved on to the legal service’s head office in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1979, working on affirmative action policies, reviewing contracts, and legal aid programs. In the 1980s she served as executive director of the Boston Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights.
She became renowned for her work on the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991
Civil Rights Act of 1991
The Civil Rights Act of 1991 is a United States statute that was passed in response to a series of United States Supreme Court decisions which limited the rights of employees who had sued their employers for discrimination...
. She also focused on international civil rights matters, serving as a Member of the advance team of the Lawyers’ Committee's South Africa Electoral Observers Delegation. In 1995, she served as the National Convener of the National Conference on African American Women and the Law and led a delegation to the NGO Forum and Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. Her involvement contributed to a United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Platform for Action that provides protection for women against multiple forms of discrimination. In 2001, Ms. Arnwine helped draft provisions of the program for action for the UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination,and Xenophobia in Durban,South Africa.
She is a leader of Election Protection (EP), the nation's largest nonpartisan voter protection coalition, launched in 2004 to assist historically disenfranchised persons to exercise the fundamental right to vote. In 2008, EP involved more than 10,000 volunteers and the EP hotline received more than 240,000 calls.
Arnwine has received numerous awards, including the Gertrude E. Rush Award and the National Black Law Students Association’s Sadie T.M. Alexander Award in 2011, the Washington D.C. Freedom’s Sisters Award and the Keeper of the Flame Award from the Boston Lawyers' Committee in 2009, the Rockwood Institute Leadership Fellow in 2008, the National Bar Association
National Bar Association
The National Bar Association was established in 1925 as the "Negro Bar Association" after Gertrude Rush, George H. Woodson, S. Joe Brown, James B. Morris, and Charles P. Howard, Sr. were denied membership in the American Bar Association. It represents the interests of African-American attorneys in...
's Equal Justice Award and the C. Francis Stradford Award in 2007, and the Charlotte E. Ray Award from the Greater Washington Area Chapter, Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association in 2002. She was a recipient of the 2011 Gruber Prize for Justice
Gruber Prize for Justice
The Gruber Prize for Justice is one of five international prizes awarded by The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, an American non-profit organization based in the U.S. Virgin Islands with offices in New York City...
.
She is also a frequent conference orator, writing numerous articles and is regularly featured by media outlets such as the American Bar Association’s Human Rights magazine, the New York Times, the Washington Post, BET< TV One, and other national and local media.