Whereas the American Jewish Committee (AJC) was founded on November 11, 1906, in New York City by a group of American Jews who wanted to raise awareness about persecution and pogroms targeting Jews in Russia and understood that the fight against anti-Semitism was inextricably linked to advancing human rights and democratic values for all; Whereas AJC recognizes that the protection of minorities underlies the fabric of democracies, and speaks out when vulnerable communities are threatened; Whereas AJC, in partnership with the Jewish community and other civil society leaders, has been an essential resource and advocate in the fight against the rising tide of hate and bigotry; Whereas AJC’s groundbreaking research on prejudice and racism was cited in the historic Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka; Whereas AJC, an early supporter of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, has not wavered in its dedication to the civil rights struggle in the United States, as it remains committed to safeguarding human rights at home and abroad; Whereas AJC has a long history of building coalitions and advocating for bipartisan, transnational solutions to address immigration; Whereas AJC’s Belfer Institute for Latino and Latin American Affairs (BILLA), has long been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen ties between Jews and Latinos, and in January 2017, BILLA established a Latino Jewish Leadership Council of 35 prominent leaders inspired by commonalities as diverse immigrant and diaspora communities with strong ties to homelands, and as peoples with first-hand knowledge of prejudice and discrimination; Whereas AJC strengthens bonds with diverse faith and ethnic communities to underscore its commitment to pluralism, to combat the rise of anti-Semitism and religiously motivated hate crimes, to ensure all faiths and minorities are protected against oppression and acts of violence and are able to practice in their houses of worship without fear