WASHINGTON /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Today the United States Commission on Civil Rights celebrates 65 years since its creation by the 1957 Voting Rights Act on September 9, 1957. Through the landmark legislation, the Commission was given the authority to investigate voting rights and then subsequently civil rights issues impacting the American people and provide recommendations to the President and Congress on corrective measures.

The 1957 Voting Rights Act signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first federal civil rights legislation since Reconstruction and was then followed by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Since the Commission’s inception, our guidance has helped to shape federal civil rights laws throughout history.

Notably the Commission’s recommendations have been taken up in the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 from the Commission’s 2018 report, An Assessment of Minority Voting Rights Access in the United States; George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 from the Commission’s 2018 report, Police Use of Force: An Examination of Modern Policing Practices; and the SHAPE Act of 2020 from the Commission’s 2020 report, Federal #MeToo: Examining Sexual Harassment in Government Workplaces.

While other federal agencies have civil rights departments and offices, the Commission is the only independent federal entity charged with studying and reporting on civil rights issues and enforcement. We inform all branches of government in seeking to develop well-reasoned solutions to a myriad of civil rights challenges confronting this nation. In addition to our national, federal perspective, our network of 56 state and territory Advisory Committees offer a broad perspective of concerns at state and local levels, and recommend actions to the Commission to address them.

The Commission’s unwavering commitment to facilitate the great American promise of equal opportunity and equal justice under law continues, presently and in the future, as we strive to close that gap, and ensure full civil rights protections for all Americans.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, established by the Civil Rights Act of 1957, is the only independent, bipartisan agency charged with advising the President and Congress on civil rights and reporting annually on federal civil rights enforcement. Our 56 state and territory Advisory Committees offer a broad perspective on civil rights concerns at state and local levels. The Commission: in our 7th decade, a continuing legacy of influence in civil rights. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE U.S. Commission on Civil Rights