Our Vision
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee envisions a society in which the legacy of discrimination has been overcome and there is an equitable application of law and access to justice.
Our Mission
The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs works to create legal, economic and social equity, primarily through litigation, but also through client and community education as well as public policy advocacy. While we fight discrimination against all people, we recognize the central role that current and historic race discrimination plays in sustaining inequity and recognize the critical importance of identifying, exposing, combating and dismantling the systems that sustain racial oppression. We have partnered with individuals and communities facing discrimination and with the legal community to achieve justice.
How We Create Change
Movement towards social and racial equity happens when committed individuals, communities, and aligned partners take legal or political action aimed at eliminating racism and unfair discrimination affecting their lives. Although there are many ways to do this, WLC’s primary tools are litigation and related public policy advocacy.
WLC empowers communities by providing strategic legal expertise and representation for underrepresented, low-income, and vulnerable individuals and communities. WLC pursues the goals of anti-racism and anti-discrimination in areas that affect people’s ability to thrive: housing, employment, accessibility for people with disabilities, education, the criminal legal system, and, more broadly, fair treatment by the government.