Civil rights champion Chai Feldblum to commemorate Title VII and the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Feldblum also will participate in a panel and recognize law school graduates from 50 years ago for International Women’s Day

Feldblum
Civil rights champion and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission member Chai Feldblum, JD, will visit Washington University in St. Louis on March 17 and 18 to participate in programs commemorating the passing of Title VII, a key piece of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as well as to celebrate International Women’s Day.

Assembly Series lecture on Tuesday, March 18

Feldblum will deliver an Assembly Series address on “The 50th Anniversary of Title VII and the 1964 Civil Rights Act: The Legal and Social Change Implications.” The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be at noon Tuesday, March 18, in Anheuser-Busch Hall’s Bryan Cave Moot Courtroom (Room 310).

Appointed to the EEOC by President Barack Obama, Feldblum has dedicated her career to securing legal rights for society’s minorities and the marginalized.

Highlights of her professional accomplishments include serving as legislative counsel to the AIDS Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and as lead attorney on the team that drafted the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as well as the ADA Amendments Act of 2008.

Furthermore, Feldblum served as legal director for the Campaign for Military Service, an initiative to overturn policies forbidding gay and bisexual people from serving openly in the U.S. armed forces. More recently, she was the lead drafter of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit employment discrimination based on someone’s real or perceived sexual orientation.

Feldblum is a former law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun and a former professor of law at Georgetown University.

Karen Tokarz, the Charles Nagel Professor of Public Interest Law & Public Service, and director of the Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Program in the School of Law, said Feldblum is a brilliant, charismatic speaker.

“She gave a stirring speech at the School of Law in October 2012 when she spoke on disability and LGBT rights, and how laws, policies and social norms can create social change,” she said.

International Women’s Day panel and reception on Monday, March 17

To recognize International Women’s Day, Feldblum will join law school alumni in a panel discussion on “Career Opportunities and New Directions in Employment and Labor Practice” from 3:30-5 p.m. Monday, March 17, in ANheuser-Busch Hall, Room 309. Peggie Smith, JD, professor of law at WUSTL, will moderate.

A reception will follow the panel discussion in the Charles F. Knight Center dining room, with introductory remarks by Feldblum. In addition to others, the event will honor law school alumnae who graduated 50-plus years ago.

This event is co-sponsored by the Woman’s Club of Washington University, the Gephardt Institute for Public Service, the School of Law Center for Interdisciplinary Study of Work & Social Capital, and the Women’s Law Caucus. Additional partners include the following WUSTL student groups: Labor & Employment Society, Public Service Advisory Board, Law & Social Work Society, and OUTLaw.

All events listed here are free and open to the public. For information on Assembly Series programs, visit the Assembly Series website or call 314-935-4620.