WASHINGTON, D.C., February  7, 2012 The Equal Rights Center (ERC)—a national non-profit civil rights organization— announced today it has been awarded a $15,000 general support grant from The Herb Block Foundation to help further its mission to promote equal opportunity in housing, employment, immigrant rights, disability rights, LGBT rights, and access to public accommodations and government services.
“The Equal Rights Center has long respected the work of the Herb Block Foundation, and is honored to enter into this new partnership,” said Don Kahl, Executive Director of the ERC. “We look forward to working with the Foundation to strategically expand our services to the populations most vulnerable to discrimination.”

Originally founded in 1983, today, the Equal Rights Center is one of the few organizations in the country that engages in a comprehensive program of advancing civil rights for all legally protected classes. With members in every state and the District of Columbia, the ERC is able to identify and redress both individual instances of discrimination as well as systemic discrimination. With its extensive expertise in civil rights testing, the ERC is uniquely able to advocate on behalf of all legally protected classes; and utilizes a multifaceted approach of education, advocacy, research, investigations, collaborative partnerships, and enforcement to protect the rights of thousands of individuals each year.

The Herb Block Foundation is committed to defending the basic freedoms guaranteed all Americans, combating all forms of discrimination and prejudice and improving the conditions of the poor and underprivileged. The grant to the ERC was awarded through the Foundation’s Defending Basic Freedom Program, which helps safeguard the basic freedoms guaranteed in our Bill of Rights, to help eliminate all forms of prejudice and discrimination, and to assist government agencies to be more accountable to the public.

About the Equal Rights Center (www.equalrightscenter.org)
Originally formed in 1983, the Equal Rights Center (ERC) is a national non-profit civil rights organization based in Washington, D.C. With members located in every state and the District of Columbia, the ERC works nationally to promote equal opportunity in housing, employment, disability rights, immigrant rights, and access to public accommodations and government services for all protected classes under federal, state, and local laws.