The United States Commission on Civil Rights is composed of eight Commissioners: four appointed by the President and four by Congress. Not more than four members shall at any one time be of the same political party.
The President also designates the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the Commission's members with the concurrence of a majority of the Commission's members.
The Commissioners serve 6-year terms. No Senate confirmation is required. The President may remove a member of the Commission only for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.
Presidential Appointees
Norma V. Cantú (Chair)
Professor of Education & Professor of Law, The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law
Former Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Austin, TX
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: DEMOCRAT
Term Ends: December 2022
VACANT (Vice Chair)
Debo P. Adegbile
Partner
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP
New York, New York
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: DEMOCRAT
Term Ends: December 2022
Stephen Gilchrist
Chairman and CEO, South Carolina African American Chamber of Commerce
Columbia, SC
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: REPUBLICAN
Term Ends: November 2025
J. Christian Adams
President and General Counsel
Public Interest Legal Foundation
Alexandria, Virginia
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: REPUBLICAN
Term Ends: December 2025
Congressional Appointees
Gail Heriot
Professor of Law, University of San Diego
San Diego, CA
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: INDEPENDENT
Term Ends: December 2025
David Kladney
Lawyer
Reno, NV
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: DEMOCRAT
Term Ends: December 2022
Peter N. Kirsanow
Partner, Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Arnoff
Cleveland, Ohio
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: REPUBLICAN
Term Ends: December 2025
Michael Yaki
Michael Yaki Consulting
San Francisco, CA
POLITICAL AFFILIATION: DEMOCRAT
Term Ends: December 2022