FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      AG
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1997                                   (202) 616-2777
                                                       TDD (202) 514-1888




ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO AND BILL LANN LEE TO COMMEMORATE THE
40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION

** MONDAY, DECEMBER 8 @ 11:00 AM **





	WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno and Bill Lann
Lee, President Clinton's choice to head the Civil Rights
Division, will speak at an event commemorating the 40th
anniversary of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. 
The event will take place Monday in the Department's Great Hall.  

	Established in 1957--the year Central High School in Little
Rock was finally integrated--the Division has played an integral
role in protecting the rights of Americans subjected to
discrimination.  The 40th anniversary is Tuesday, December 9.




				DATE:  Monday, December 8, 1997

				TIME:  11:00 A.M.

				SITE:  The Great Hall, Department of Justice

					  10th & Constitution Avenue, N.W.




	The Attorney General will also be joined by Deputy Attorney
General Eric Holder; Associate Attorney General Ray Fisher;
Acting Assistant Attorney General Isabelle Katz Pinzler; and,
John Trasvina, Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair
Employment Practices.  Speakers will also include former
Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, Stanley Pottinger
(1973-1977); Rita Sanders Geier, the original plaintiff in the
case that lead to the integration of higher education in the
State of Tennessee; 15-year old Elizabeth Hollowell, one of the
deaf patrons at Walt Disney World whose concern over a lack of
interpreters lead to a Justice Department agreement with the
company; and Representative John Lewis.




NOTE: The event is open to federally credentialed media.  Media
should enter through the Constitution Avenue entrance between 9th
and 10th Streets.  Cameras may begin setting up at 9:30 P.M.  

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