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13 Berkeley Women's L.J. 34 (1998)
Equal Rights Advocates: Addressing the Legal Issues of Women of Color

handle is hein.journals/berkwolj13 and id is 40 raw text is: Equal Rights Advocates: Addressing the Legal Issues of Women of Color Judy Scales-Trentt I. INTRODUCTION On February 21, 1991, reporters and television cameras crowded into a small conference room in San Francisco to hear an announcement by representatives of three local public interest law firms-Asian Law Caucus (ALC), Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), and Equal Rights Advocates (ERA). The media had come to hear about the firms' victory in a case that would affect the rights of hundreds of thousands of workers in America. At the request of these attorneys, a federal district judge in Fresno had just ruled that un- documented workers in this country were protected by federal civil rights law. At the press briefing, the decision was announced and explained in English, Spanish, and Chinese. The story was covered not only by Bay area reporters, but also by Univisi6n, a television station that broadcasts in Spanish throughout North and South America. Copyright 0 1998, Judy Scales-Trent. For electronic use permission, contact the BERKELEY WOMEN'S LAW JOURNAL. t Professor of Law, S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo Law School. This article could not have been written without the cooperation of many busy people-Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) lawyers, past and present; ERA clients, staff, and consultants; ERA co-founders and co-counsel. They donated their time to be interviewed and to comment on earlier drafts of this article. I take this opportu- nity to thank them all. I offer special thanks to Nancy Davis, executive director of ERA during the time of this study, who allowed me access to the ERA office, staff, documents, and publications. When Davis gave me permission to conduct this study, I suggested that she might want to re-think her offer, as I could end up writing things about ERA with which she might not agree. Her response was quick and clear: Don't worry; we can always learn to do it better. I also want to express my appreciation to all of ERA's clients, for it is they who have done the hardest work of all. There is nothing easy about standing up for one's rights. Indeed, one is often punished for taking such a stand. I take this opportunity, then, to salute their leadership and courage. Finally, the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy at S.U.N.Y. at Buffalo Law School pro- vided funding for this research. I am grateful for its continued support. BERKELEY WOMEN'S LAW JOURNAL

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