The NBA is saddened to learn of the passing of member Jacqueline Berrien, former Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Berrien was a leader in the field of labor and employment law, a great champion for justice, and a tireless civil rights advocate. President Obama, who appointed Berrien to lead the EEOC, praised her as someone who "spent her entire career fighting to give voice to underrepresented communities and to protect our most basic rights". NBA President Benjamin Crump noted "Jackie Berrien was a civil rights warrior who represented the best of the NBA, which honors her legacy by carrying on the fight for Justice." Prior to her appointment in President Obama's administration in 2010, Berrien practiced civil rights law for more than 20 years. From 2004-2010 She served as Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). From 2001 to 2004, she was a Program Officer in the Governance and Civil Society Unit of the Ford Foundation’s Peace and Social Justice Program. From 1994 to 2001, she was an Assistant Counsel with LDF and directed their voting rights and political participation docket. During that time she also represented voters in proceedings before the U.S. Supreme Court, and federal and state appellate and trial courts. Prior to 1994, Berrien was an attorney with the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights in Washington, D.C., and with the National Legal Department and Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union in New York. Berrien's contributions to the legal and civil rights community have been invaluable. We are greatly appreciative of her service, and her active involvement with the NBA. We extended our deepest condolences to Berrien's family and loved ones.
