U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

2003 NEWS RELEASES, PRESS ADVISORIES AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS

CIVIL RIGHTS COMMISSION EXAMINES D.C. GOVERNMENT - LATINO COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Friday, March 21, 2003, 10:30 a.m.
Commission Headquarters
624 9th Street, N.W.
Room 540
Washington, DC 20425

Ten years after the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a report calling for sweeping reforms in Latino community access to D.C. government services, the Commission will facilitate a forum to discuss the status of the District of Columbia's efforts to address the needs of its Latino community.

Representatives from the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and AYUDA, among others, will brief the Commissioners on current government-community relations, and discuss further steps that must be taken to guarantee the civil rights of the city's Latino population.

D.C. government officials, including Police Chief Charles Ramsey, School Superintendent Paul Vance, Deputy Mayor John Koskinen, and Department of Health Director James Buford will be present to respond to concerns raised by the community representatives.

For more information, including a list of panelists, contact Danielle Lewis at 202/833-9771.

03/19/03