Barbara Arnwine Barbara R. Arnwine, the executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law since 1989, is internationally renowned for contributions on critical justice issues, including the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1991. A graduate of Scripps College and Duke University School of Law, her work focuses on issues including housing, fair lending, community development, employment, voting, education, environmental justice and the preservation of affirmative action and diversity programs. In 1995 and 2000, she served as the convener of the National Conference on African American Women and the Law. Her work has contributed to a United Nations Platform for Action that provides protection for women who confront multiple forms of discrimination and to a report and action agenda for advocacy before the UN General Assembly Special Session on Women. In 2001, she helped to draft provisions of the program for action of the UN World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban, South Africa. In 2004 and 2008, Ms. Arnwine was a prominent leader of the nonpartisan Election Protection Coalition. She has received many awards, including the Keeper of the Flame Award from the Boston Lawyers’ Committee, the prestigious Rockwood Institute Leadership Fellowship, the Charlotte E. Ray Award from the Greater Washington Area Chapter of the Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association, and the Association’s Equal Justice Award and the C. Francis Stradford Award, the highest honor bestowed by that organization.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling

To commemorate Women’s History Month, ND20 asked women thought leaders to reflect on past accomplishments and explore today’s key challenges. Barbara Arnwine argues that economic justice is still one of the most pressing legal issues for women — especially women of color.

Inspired by the achievements of countless African American women, we march forward, resolute in our mission to achieve equal rights. Sojourner Truth proclaimed, “Ain’t I a woman?” as she declared she could work as much as a man. Dr. Dorothy Height has fought for equal rights for African Americans and women for several decades and even encouraged President Lyndon B. Johnson…

Navigating the Jobs Crisis: Race to the Unemployment Line

In the wake of the highest unemployment rate in 25 years, the Roosevelt Institute asked historians, economists and other public thinkers to reflect on the lessons of the New Deal and explore new, big ideas for how to get America back to work. Barbara Arnwine looks at the ‘ethnic recession’ and how to address training and reemployment challenges for our most vulnerable communities.

As the economy continues its long road to recovery, we must be weary of the policies implemented along the trek. Race looms at the fork in the road and we must determine which way to turn to…

New Agenda for America: Did We Hit ‘Rewind’?

To mark the 80th Anniversary of the Great Crash of ‘29, we asked 15 progressive thinkers to write about lessons learned and what lies ahead. Together, their reflections constitute a New Agenda for America — a message of how the ideals of a fair society should apply to the economic and social policies of our time.

On this anniversary of the Great Crash of 1929, we continue to battle critical issues of economic and social policy that adversely impact minority and low-income communities. Policymakers must aggressively address and equate economic and civil rights matters, like the ongoing foreclosure crisis, payday lending, mortgage…

All subprime mortgages are not equal

The subprime mortgage crisis is often discussed in political discourse as if it were a chapter in a textbook, rather than a “real world” experience in the lives of so many communities, especially the communities of low-income people and people of color. We pontificate on its causes while neglecting its actual impact. We hear stories about victims as if they were characters in a novel, but we don’t often hear much about which neighborhoods, cultures and families are directly impacted.  It’s important to theorize and analyze the cause of the crisis, but it is more important to focus on the…