United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division
federal institution
The United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division is a division of the United States Department of Justice that enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, disability, religion, and national origin.
The division was established on December 9, 1957, by order of Attorney General William P. Rogers, after the Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the head office of Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights (AAG-CR; appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate)
Organization
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights:
Appellate Section
Coordination and Review Section
Criminal Section
Disability Rights Section
Educational Opportunities Section
Employment Litigation Section
Housing and Civil Enforcement Section
Immigrant and Employee Rights Section
Policy & Strategy Section
Special Litigation Section
Voting Section
Jurisdiction
The division enforces
the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1968
the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended through 2006
the Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974
the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
the National Voter Registration Act of 1993
the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009
the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986
the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984
the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980, which authorizes the Attorney General to seek relief for persons confined in public institutions where conditions exist that deprive residents of their constitutional rights
the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994
the Police Misconduct Provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994
the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000
the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993
Section 102 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin and citizenship status as well as document abuse and retaliation under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952.
In addition, the division prosecutes actions under several criminal civil rights statutes which were designed to preserve personal liberties and safety.
The public source identifies “United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division” as federal institution. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around United, States and Department.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division”, the useful work is to connect “federal institution” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7889732. VIAF identifies the subject as 305409544. The Library of Congress control number is n79009003. 1 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1957, 1960, 1964 and 1968.
Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
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This entry incorporates text from “United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.