National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA)

NLADA has said the critical race theory-influenced concepts of implicit bias and racial inequality are deeply rooted in the American justice system, ⁷ views the critical race theory-influenced concept of racial equity as a central part of its delivery of legal services, ⁸ and asked others to commit to “uncomfortable conversations about race” following the death of George Floyd. ⁶

A strategic ally of left-of-center John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, ⁹ NLADA received at least $1,900,000 from the MacArthur Foundation between 2015 and 2021 ¹⁰ as a part of its plan to reduce prison populations by targeting what it calls “misuse of jails.” ¹ In 2021, NLADA also received $300,000 from the left-of-center Lumina Foundation for Education ¹¹ and $275,000 from the left-of-center W.K. Kellogg Foundation. ¹²

History and Leadership

National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) was founded in 1911 as the National Legal Aid Association when 15 different legal societies joined in an association to support legal services for low-income people. The National Legal Aid Association added a legal defender section in 1956 and became the NLADA in 1958. ² NLADA’s research efforts in the early 1970s helped lead to the foundation of the federal government-funded Legal Services Corporation (LSC) in 1974. ¹³

In 2021, NLADA’s board of directors created a critical race theory-influenced racial justice task force to advance the concepts of economic, social, cultural, civil, and political justice. ¹⁴

April Frazier Camara is the President and CEO of NLADA. ¹⁵ She is a co-founder of NLADA’s Black Public Defender Association. ¹⁶

Activities and Funding

National Legal Aid and Defender Association is the oldest and largest nonprofit providing legal services to low-income individuals in the United States. ¹ NLADA also supports the research capacity of public defenders and public policy advocacy. ^{17 18 19}

NLADA supports the far-left Black Lives Matter movement ^{3 4} and has said the critical race theory-influenced concepts of implicit bias and racial inequality are deeply rooted in the American justice system. ⁷ NLADA values the critical race theory-influenced concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ¹ and views the critical race theory-influenced concept of racial justice as critical to its mission. ⁷

NLADA hosts a far-left racial equity institute, ⁵  believes the critical race theory-influenced concept of racial equity should be a central part of its role in promoting the delivery of its legal services, ²⁰ and supports a change from what the group calls “racial equity awareness” to “action and implementation” on the topic. ²¹

NLADA has also passed a resolution calling upon its member organizations to implement its critical race theory-influenced Fight Against Implicit Bias and Racial Inequality (FAIR) Pledge. The FAIR Pledge calls for critical race theory-influenced implicit bias training, designation of staff diversity officers, and evaluation of progress towards far-left racial justice objectives. ²²

NLADA operates critical race theory-influenced “anti-racism training” courses with the National Alliance of Indigent Defense Educators (NAIDE) to advance the left-wing concept of racial equity ⁴ and asked others to commit to “uncomfortable conversations about race” following the death of George Floyd. ⁶ In 2018, NLADA released a critical race theory-influenced “racial justice action plan” that said the left-wing concept of racial equity must be present in all of NLADA’s hiring decisions. ²³

Following the 2020 presidential election, NLADA released a list of policy recommendations for the incoming Biden administration and said it was standing by to support the new administration on issues of interest to NLADA. ^{24 25} Previously, the association has convened reports under grants from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. ²⁶

Related Organizations

National Legal Aid and Defender Association is a strategic ally of left-of-center John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, a five-year, $100 million initiative present in 40 jurisdictions that works to change legal systems and keep individuals out of jail. ⁹

NLADA also has a corporate advisory committee whose members include Amazon, AT&T, Bank of America, Ford, Hewlett Packard, Merck, PayPal, Pfizer, P&G, Twitter, Uber, Visa, Walmart, and others. ²⁷

Funding

National Legal Aid and Defender Association receives funding from individual donations and grants. ²⁸ In 2020, NLADA reported revenue of $5,032,741 and expenses of $5,006,581. In 2019, the NLADA reported revenue of $5,834,147 and expenses of $5,404,186. ²⁹

In 2021, NLADA received $300,000 from the left-of-center Lumina Foundation for Education to support its Black Public Defender Association. ¹¹ That same year, NLADA also received $275,000 from the left-of-center W.K. Kellogg Foundation. ¹²

NLADA has received at least $1,900,000 from the left-of-center John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation between 2015 and 2021. This total includes grants of $650,000 in 2021; $500,000 in 2019; $500,000 in 2017; and $250,000 in 2015. ¹ MacArthur Foundation grants to NLADA have worked to reduce prison populations by targeting what it calls “misuse of jails.” ¹

NLADA received $10,000 of funding from Greater Washington Community Foundation in 2016; ³⁰ $10,000 from George Washington University in 2015, ³¹ $40,000 from United Way Miami in 2015, ³² and $10,000 from the Venable Baetjer and Howard Foundation in 2014. ³³

NLADA has also received funding from the left-of-center Public Welfare Foundation, left-of-center Kresge Foundation, U.S. Department of Justice, and others to develop and maintain LegalAidResearch.org. ³⁴