This Black History Month, all of us at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) acknowledge that this has been a devastating time for Black communities in the Greater Washington, D.C. region and across the country.

In collaboration with our clients and community partners, we have been standing up to the threats to Black communities, while at the same time striving for racial and economic justice:

First Amendment Win for Black Students at Confederate-Named School (VA): After the Shenandoah County school board renamed two public schools after Confederate generals, we sued on behalf of the Virginia NAACP and individual students. In September 2025, a federal judge ruled that the Confederate school names violate students’ First Amendment rights because the school board cannot compel students to be “walking billboards” of the name Stonewall Jackson and the Confederate message it represents. “This decision reverberates far beyond the walls of Shenandoah County’s schools,” said Marja Plater, WLC Senior Counsel. “The court’s opinion makes it unmistakably clear: students deserve the freedom to define themselves unencumbered by symbols they do not choose.” Read our press release.

Transfer of White Supremacist Trademark to Historic Black D.C. Church: In December 2020, the Proud Boys attacked Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal (Metro AME) Church in Washington, D.C. Alongside Paul, Weiss and Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, we sued the Proud Boys on behalf of Metro AME, seeking redress for the attack, and secured a $2.8 million judgment against the group, including $1 million in punitive damages. In 2025 the court transferred the Proud Boys’ trademark rights to Metro AME, marking the first time that a Black organization has been awarded the property of a white supremacist organization. Read our statement.

Opening the Doors to Affordable Housing for Black D.C. Residents: In April 2025, WLC went to court to challenge tenant screening policies at multiple DC apartment complexes. Our client, the Equal Rights Center, alleges that the policies discriminate against renters using government-issued housing vouchers as well as against returning citizens with criminal convictions. In D.C., 95 percent of housing voucher recipients are Black, even though Black residents comprise approximately 45 percent of D.C.’s population. “This lawsuit employs consumer protection law in a pioneering effort to secure safe and affordable housing for D.C. residents,” says Mirela Missova, WLC Supervising Counsel. Read our press release.

Groundbreaking Lawsuit Challenging Racially Biased Advertising on Facebook and Instagram: In 2025, we joined the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in a groundbreaking lawsuit against tech giant Meta for engaging in 21st-century digital redlining. The lawsuit, brought under the D.C. Human Rights Act and D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, argues that Meta’s algorithm disproportionately steers for-profit school ads to Black users while disproportionately steering ads for public nonprofit colleges to white users. In July 2025, the D.C. Superior Court denied Meta’s motion to dismiss and ruled that our client, the Equal Rights Center, had sufficiently alleged race discrimination, allowing the case to challenge algorithmic bias in online advertising. Read our press release.

An Ongoing Fight to Sustain Humanitarian Protection for Cameroonians: In May 2025, we sued the Department of Homeland Security for unlawfully terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Cameroonians living and working lawfully in the U.S. Our client O.M. is a senior citizen who received TPS status after fleeing violence in Cameroon. She works as a home health assistant in Maryland, helping people with disabilities. “Losing TPS exposes me to the risk of being forced to return to a country where I am not safe. I faced physical abuse all because of my religious faith when I lived in Cameroon. I can’t go back and suffer that again. [Maryland] is my home.” Read our press release.

We are engaged in the urgent work of justice today, while striving to build a more inclusive tomorrow.

Together for Justice.