Sherrilyn Ifill ’84—civil rights lawyer and author—joined Professor of Sociology Dianne Harriford for a moderated discussion about reimagining democracy in the Villard Room on Friday, Oct. 3. Ifill served as President and Director-Counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF) from 2013 to 2022, and is currently the Vernon Jordan Distinguished Professor in Civil Rights at Howard Law School. During the conversation, Ifill spoke candidly and personally about the threats facing democracy and equality in the United States.
Ifill began her discussion by reflecting on the complicated journey she and other civil rights advocates have undertaken. While highlighting important achievements, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Ifill also characterized the American legal framework as unjust and incomplete in regards to racial equality. When asked about the historical struggle for civil rights during the talk, Ifill noted, “So much of this work is compromise, we shouldn’t presume or fool ourselves into believing that what we had was actually what we wanted. What we had was what we could get.”
Ifill also argued that many established rights are currently being undermined. Recently, the federal government has been accused of dismantling crucial privileges intended to provide equal opportunities and visibility for Black Americans and other minorities. For example, President Donald Trump’s attack on diversity, equity and inclusion as well as his administration’s erasure of Black American history from museums and national archives has ignited fierce backlash. When confronting this changing political landscape, Ifill insisted, “I will not go back. I don’t even want what we used to have…I want something more.”
As Ifill spoke about her journey and experiences as a leader, she identified what she believes is one of the greatest issues plaguing America: ineffective leadership. Explaining why she chose to leave the LDF, Ifill connected her reasoning to American politics: “I’m a big believer in getting out of the way for successive generations. And, you know, I think this is a lesson that just too many leaders, political leaders, civil rights leaders, business leaders [need to hear]: ‘Just get out of the way.’” Ifill qualified her comment, stating, “It doesn’t mean that you leave the stage, because we have important information experience, knowledge strategy to bring to the table, for sure, but you don’t have to be on the front line all the time.” Establishment politicians like Joe Biden, Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Schumer have been criticized for refusing to give up their power. Ifill argued that this kind of leadership creates generational deficits, concluding: “[A leader’s] job is to create someone who is going to replace you and who is going to be able to continue that work.”
Throughout the talk, Ifill repeatedly used a metaphor about “planting and harvesting” to capture the obligation present generations have to continue the work started by previous ones. Characterizing recent American history as a time of “harvest” and bounty for social and racial justice, Ifill claimed, “We have lived in the harvest of sacrifices made by those who were in the civil rights movement. That’s why we can stay at the hotel we want to stay at, find the house where we want to live, marry who we want to.” Ifill also noted that all times of harvest are temporary and must be maintained through constant vigilance: “We thought that harvest times would last forever, but they don’t. We have to actually plant. And so the question is, do we have it in us to do the planting?” In an interview with The Miscellany News, Vassar Professor of Geography Yu Zhou expanded on Ifill’s analysis, suggesting,“We should not expect to always live in a time of harvest, benefiting from the work of earlier generations. When things get tough, our work should continue for future generations.” Similarly, Sebastian Woods-DeLeon ’28 interpreted Ifill’s comments as a call to action, saying, “I think she also stated this time is for us. She was being indirect, but I interpreted that as students [we need] to plant the seeds. And so I think we have to just keep that in mind.”
Reflecting on the work of future generations, Ifill claimed, “We have to be in community, one with another. We have to read, we have to write, we have to sing, we have to be joyful.” Makenna Brown ’28 echoed Ifill’s thoughts, saying, “When you’re actually sitting with people and conversing with them, rather than trying to direct it towards a sort of wider audience…I think that’s great.”
In an interview with The Miscellany News, Ifill explained the consequences that come from a culture that deemphasizes humanity. Discussing the necessity of younger generations developing interpersonal relationships, Ifill said, “Unless we want generations and generations who lack the intellectual, the democratic wiring in their systems to even understand these concepts and why they’re important, we’re going to end up with more people like that.” In an interview with The Miscellany News, Ismail Rashid, Professor and Chair of History on the Marion Musser Lloyd ’32 Chair, expressed that he felt reaffirmed in his belief that America can aspire for a brighter future, saying, “I think that in spite of all of those things, that we also need to be hopeful, to be hopeful, because we have the ability, we have the agency to reimagine and to make the country different.”
At the end of the discussion, Ifill returned to civil rights. She maintained that the future of racial equality depends on America’s realization and acknowledgment of its own prejudice: “We have to be able to confront the truth about the hold of white supremacy on this country, the way it is deployed and used to manipulate people to work against their own interests.” She also challenged the perception that, “Civil rights is [about] getting goodies for Black people. That’s not what it is. It’s a democratic movement.”
Ifill stressed that Americans need to change how they think about themselves and their role in a diverse society. She says too many view their own existence as mutually exclusive with those who are a different race, gender or political ideology. Ifill offered hope for the future, noting American history has shown that,“[By] merely by being in proximity to one another, we engage in the process of becoming.” She also acknowledged that our current society is failing to achieve this, saying, “Instead, we have allowed this country, and particularly white people, to retreat into segregated lives, and the result is that we don’t now have the raw material that we need to create and strengthen a healthy democracy.”