NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund

American organization

Also known as: NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund

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July 1, 2026

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The NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund (LDF) is an American organization established in 1939 as an independent legal arm of the NAACP. Its primary mission is to work for the abolition of segregation and discrimination and to ensure African Americans their constitutional rights.1

The LDF has been instrumental in landmark legal victories, including arguing Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, which led to the desegregation of schools, and Morgan v. Virginia, which barred segregation in interstate travel. The organization also campaigned to end capital punishment, viewing it as an issue of racial justice. The LDF's work has significantly contributed to the advancement of civil rights in the United States.12

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National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
…the civil rights movement the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which litigated to the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the case that resulted in the high court’s landmark 1954 school-desegregation decision. The organization had also won a significant victory in 1946, with Morgan v. Virginia,…
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…the civil rights movement the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, which litigated to the Supreme Court Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, the case that resulted in the high court’s landmark 1954 school-desegregation decision. The organization had also won a significant victory in 1946, with Morgan v. Virginia,…
Read More

Constance Baker Motley
…law school, she joined the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, where she worked with Thurgood Marshall. Over the 20-year period during which she served as a staff member and associate counsel, she won nine civil rights victories in cases she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, including…
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…law school, she joined the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, where she worked with Thurgood Marshall. Over the 20-year period during which she served as a staff member and associate counsel, she won nine civil rights victories in cases she argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, including…
Read More