LDF Issues Letter to FEMA Urging Equitable Access to Disaster Resources

Read a PDF of our statement here.

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) along with 10 civil rights, environmental justice, and disaster recovery organizations today sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) inquiring how the agency will ensure equitable access to disaster resources. This is in light of the agency's recent decision to rescind federal protections against unjustified disparate impacts caused by the policies and practices of federal grantees. Disparate impact laws and regulations help address discriminatory policies that create unfair barriers and are not justified by a substantial, legitimate reason.

Black communities routinely encounter barriers to access to federal disaster resources, even though these same communities are at a disproportionate risk of enduring disasters. For decades, FEMA regulations prohibited policies that caused unjustified barriers for Black communities and other communities of color. The Trump administration is systematically dismantling protections against unjustified disparate impacts, falsely claiming these laws and regulations are unconstitutional.

"Although its disparate-impact regulations have now been rescinded, FEMA's obligations to the public remain the same," the Legal Defense Fund said in the letter. "FEMA has a duty to serve every person in America equally, and to ensure that federal resources are administered fairly…FEMA must take steps to ensure Black communities and other communities of color are not left behind the next time disaster strikes."

The letter was joined by the African American Society, Center for Environmental Health, Citizens for Alternatives to Radioactive Dumping (CARD), Environmental & Climate Justice Initiative, NYU School of Law (note that the ECJ Initiative does not purport to represent the view of NYU or the NYU School of Law), LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Los Jardines Institute, National Fair Housing Alliance, Southern Environmental Law Center, WE ACT for Environmental Justice, and WERA.

Visit here to learn more about LDF's disparate impact work.

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF)is the nation's first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF's archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.