NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Reveals a New Look for Its Scholarship Programs and Announces the Availability of Scholarship Applications for the 2011-2012 Academic Year

NEW YORK, Nov. 1, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) Scholarship Programs announced today that they are accepting applications for the 2011-2012 academic year.  Applications and answers to frequently asked questions regarding the scholarship programs and the application process can be found at www.naacpldf.org/scholarships.  As part of a general modernizing process, both scholarship programs—The Herbert Lehman Education Fund and the Earl Warren Legal Training Program—have newly redesigned applications.

LDF has also launched "The Young Scholars Video Diaries" webpage so that visitors can learn first hand of five 2010 scholarship recipients' experiences and follow them throughout the course of their academic journeys.

"As a central part of its mission, LDF has helped students achieve their educational goals with undergraduate and law scholarships for over fifty years. We are proud to announce the opening of this year's application process and to assist the next generation of civil rights defenders in pursuing their degrees at the nation's top colleges, universities and law schools," said Karen Thompson, Director of LDF's Scholarship Programs.

ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIPS:

LDF's Scholarship Programs have funded the educations of generations of students eager to defend and protect civil rights.  Alumni include:  Marion Wright Edelman (founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund), Congressman James Clyburn and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Nicole Austin-Hillary (Director and Counsel of the Brennan Center for Justice (D.C.)) and the Honorable David Coar (United States District Judge for the Northern District of Illinois).

The HERBERT LEHMAN SCHOLARSHIP is named after the former Governor and United States Senator from New York State in recognition of his integrity, persistence, and valor on behalf of numerous civil rights causes.  Lehman Scholarships are awarded to high school seniors, high school graduates and college freshmen attending four-year, accredited colleges and universities who have a demonstrable interest in advancing the cause of civil rights and/or serving the public interest.

The EARL WARREN SCHOLARSHIP is named for the 14th Chief Justice of the United States, whose stewardship of the Supreme Court helped end school segregation and transform America's legal landscape. Earl Warren scholarships are awarded annually to students entering accredited three-year law schools whose commitment to social justice reveals outstanding potential for training as civil rights and public interest attorneys.

LDF's Scholarship Programs support the next generation of American change agents by providing important financial and practical support to young people who will shape and mold our society and advance the cause of civil rights.

In light of its long history of struggle to bring equality to all Americans, LDF is uniquely able to provide guidance and mentorship as well as valuable civil rights training to its scholarship recipients.

ABOUT LDF

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.(LDF) is America's premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. Through litigation, advocacy, and public education, LDF seeks structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice in a society that fulfills the promise of equality for all Americans. LDF also defends the gains and protections won over the past 70 years of civil rights struggle and works to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments.

SOURCE NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund