Eva Jefferson Paterson (born 16 June 1949) is the president and founder of the Equal Justice Society, a national legal organization focused on civil rights and anti-discrimination.
[1] Dubbed the “peaceful warrior” for fostering non-violent protest in the aftermath of the 1970 shooting of student demonstrators at Kent State University, she was named one of Mademoiselle's “Ten Young Women of the Year,” featured on the covers of Ebony and Jet, and called to testify before Congress.
[2][3] After graduating from law school, Paterson worked for the Legal Aid Society of Alameda County and co-founded A Safe Place, a shelter for battered women in Oakland, California.
Paterson led the organization's work providing free legal services to low-income individuals, litigating class action civil rights cases, and advocating for social justice.
The measure would have banned the collection of racial and ethnic data by any state agency, thus making it virtually impossible to track and document race discrimination or to bring civil rights suits to court.