Janai Nelson

Let’s gooooooooooo!

It's National Black Man Voter Day – Let's Make It Count Black men can change the narrative around the importance of voting. By turning out to vote in the 2026 midterms Black voters can make a difference in races across the country-up & down the ballot. legaldefensefund.substack.com/p/its-nation...

CALLING ALL BLACK MEN: This is your day to get it done. Register. Vote early. Send in your ballot. Sign up to be a poll worker. Join LDF’s volunteer team: LDF.vote We need you today and everyday. <3

Reminder: Presidential pardons do not provide absolute immunity. Law breakers can still be prosecuted for state, local and international crimes and, in some cases, face civil liability or other penalties such as disbarment. The pardon might be exhibit A. www.washingtonsun.com/whitehouse/w...

The devastating effects of the Trump administration will be long & grow longer if unchecked. DOGE and anti-DEIA campaigns have wrought financial havoc on Black families & worsened wealth inequality. But the one currency we hold in equal measure is our VOTE. Use it. thegrio.com/2026/10/23/b...

“The law and the courts are on voters’ side. It’s Illegal to deploy federal troops or armed federal agents at any polling location as it’s been since the Civil War.” - LDF lawyer John Cusick www.huffpost.com/entry/donald...

For Black parents the question of where to send our children to school has never been simply a matter of parental preference. It’s shaped by govt decisions re: where we live, resources, school district lines & what SCOTUS deems fair & just education. Read my latest. www.thenation.com/article/soci...

“Black voters are not political pawns. We are not faceless masses waiting to be packed & cracked into districts that most efficiently benefit either party. We are not a means to an end.” LDF’s Todd Cox on inextricable link b/w democracy and racial justice thehill.com/opinion/civi...

Kohen Wiley was shot to death by police in the backseat of his mother’s car on an unfounded accusation that she shoplifted diapers. In no sane world is drawing a gun justified under these circumstances. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Fiercely proud of these North Carolina A&T HBCU students who are doing everything possible to make their voices heard. This is VOTE-MAXXING despite the obstacles. But let’s be clear: Just because Black voters continually clear hurdles does not make those hurdles any less illegal.

REMINDER: Today by 12 pm ET, Todd Blanche shall submit, in REDACTED form, to the Court for in camera review the FBI interview notes for the South Carolina woman who alleges she was 13 years old when she was sexually and physically abused by Donald Trump. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

We deserve serious leadership in the White House, not a circus parade. Katie Zacharia Is Ousted After 5 Days as White House Press Secretary www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/u...

On Oct. 15, 2025, I asked the Supreme Court to uphold equal representation for Black voters in Louisiana v. Callais. The extremist majority destroyed the Voting Rights Act instead. We can fight back by VOTE-MAXXING: every eligible voter to go to the polls and take our democracy back. LDF.vote

Pressure matters. Trump and Hegseth have retreated from the sadism of a public execution. The death penalty—no matter how it is administered—has no place in a civilized society. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/15/u...

Calling all early voters in Georgia! Want to double the fun and have even more impact? Sign up to be a poll worker at powerthepolls.org to help others vote. Thank you for your service. Pass it on!

FYI, in California, as in all states, impersonating a lawyer or practicing law without a license is a crime known as the Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL). It’s governed by California Business and Professions Code Section 6125 and Section 6126, among other laws. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/14/u...

There is every reason for suspicion, skepticism, and outrage about the raid of a sitting member of Congress’s home after repeated and unjustified attacks on her character. www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...

LDF Forcefully Denounces U.S. Secretary of Defense Decision to Livestream Execution by Firing Squad www.naacpldf.org/press-releas...

It’s been nearly a year since I argued Louisiana v. Callais. This newly released conversation before a live audience in NOLA on Essence Fest 2026 weekend with Power Coalition CEO Ashley Shelton brought it all back—and points the way forward. Have a listen. designobserver.com/bonus-live-f...

“There cannot be safety in NYC when ICE is allowed to engage in acts of brutality that endanger the lives of our neighbors and children. Black and immigrant communities are at particular risk of being victims of abuse.” Samuel Spital, LDF Assoc Dir-Counsel www.naacpldf.org/press-releas...

America, they are trying to desensitize you to violence. They want us to dehumanize one another so we become numb to their attacks on our liberty. They wish to normalize total state control thru visual terror. Attention is currency. Don’t invest it in evil. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The Supreme Court’s disgraceful decision in Callais helped lead to the erroneous dismissal of our challenge to Tennessee’s heinous gerrymander that intentionally fractures Black communities and disenfranchises voters for the sake of raw partisan power. Our vote is a threat. Use it.

Great to sit down with @CUNYLaw to discuss my path as a civil rights lawyer that led me to LDF and to assume the W. Haywood Burns Chair in honor of this legendary human rights law activist and LDF alum. Doing my part to prep next gen lawyers for the fight. www.law.cuny.edu/newsroom_pos...

2026 SCOTUS Term officially began yesterday. Here from LDF’s Associate Director-Counsel Sam Spital about what to expect. legaldefensefund.substack.com/p/5-question...

30 Days until the very last day to vote! 1. Register & double-check your registration. 2. Vote early in person, if possible. 3. Request a mail-in ballot now if you need to vote by mail. 4. Make an Election Day plan: confirm polling site, transport, etc. 5. Work the polls: www.powerthepolls.org

From 1972-1976, LDF secured a historic nationwide moratorium on capital punishment, saving 600+ lives. We commend TN Gov. Lee’s halt of all executions, pending investigation into the botched execution attempt of Christa Pike & urge SCOTUS to do the same. www.pbs.org/newshour/nat...

Supreme Court Opens the Door for Potential Voter Purges. Here’s How You Can Fight Back legaldefensefund.substack.com/p/administra...

LDF Strongly Condemns the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision to Restore Trump Administration’s SAVE Database www.naacpldf.org/press-releas...

Happy 10-year anniversary to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture—a place of reckoning and reimagination. Let’s support our institutions of memory and maintain durable spaces for truth to live. Please consider donating to NMAAHC: nmaahc.si.edu/connect/ways...

DOJ’s decision to end its involvement in more than 50 longstanding school desegregation cases is an indefensible retreat from federal govt responsibility to ensure the promise of Brown v. Board of Education is realized in classrooms across the country. www.naacpldf.org/press-releas...

Celebrating Carol Mason for winning a nearly 10-year battle after conviction for erroneously casting a provisional ballot while on supervised release. It’a time to reverse laws that unjustly strip citizens in the criminal system of their right to vote. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Our prayers are with the family and friends of Nolan Wells in this dark hour. We renew our call to both Congress and the U.N. for an independent investigation into the recent suspicious deaths of Black people like Nolan Wells. www.naacpldf.org/press-releas...

Kudos to the networks that have banned together to oppose Trump’s tyrannical attack on freedom of the press. Too many leaders of law firms, universities, and other corporations failed to follow this model of collective action to our collective detriment. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/b...

Gratitude to Nikole Hannah Jones for courageously revealing the silent calculus of Black parents in struggling to raise healthy & secure children in a country where Black children’s potential is systemically undervalued, undermined & too often unrealized. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/20/m...

The alarms are deafening. This is an all-out assault on free press and a desecration of one of the foundational principles of our constitution. Every journalist and side with access to Trump must use their influence to force him to reverse course or be complicit in his deepening authoritarianism.

Legal Defense Fund Celebrates Historic Enactment of Four State Voting Rights Acts in One Year as California Bill Is Signed into Law www.naacpldf.org/press-releas...

Thrilled to be litigating with you, @normeisen.bsky.social. This moment is bringing true defenders of democracy closer together. And that’s a deliciously dangerous thing.