Glenn D. Magpantay appointed to United States Commission on Civil Rights

LGBTI/API leader Glenn Magpantay Joins U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.

Glenn D. Magpantay has been appointed as a Commissioner of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, an independent, bipartisan federal agency, to advise Congress and The White House on the enforcement of federal civil rights laws and development of national civil rights policy. He took his seat at the Commission’s meeting on March 24 and heard testimony on the Federal Response to Anti-Asian Racism in the United States.

Mr. Magpantay is a long-time civil rights attorney, professor of law and Asian American Studies, and LGBTQ rights activist. He will be the only Asian Pacific Islander currently serving on The Commission.  He will be the 1st LGBTQ Asian American and first Filipino American Commissioner since President Eisenhower created the Commission in 1957.

The U.S. Senate announced Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s appointment of Mr. Magpantay to the Commission in the Congressional Record on February 13, 2023.  Commission Staff Director Mauro Morales officially swore-in Mr. Magpantay on February 15, 2023.  He will be seated on March 24 with a ceremonial swearing-in. 

Mr. Magpantay has been a civil rights attorney on behalf of Asian Americans for 25 years and an activist for LGBTQ rights for over 35 years.  He is currently a George Soros Equality Fellow at the Open Society Foundations; Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Asian American Studies Program at CUNY’s Hunter College, and the principal of Magpantay & Associates: a nonprofit consulting and legal services firm.

Commissioner Magpantay said, “It’s an enormous honor to serve my country and represent my community.  We’ve been overlooked too long. I look forward to assessing the state of civil rights enforcement in the United States and advising Congress and The President on national civil rights policy.”