Recent weeks have brought several déjà vu moments for Barbara Arnwine and for the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which she has led as president since 1989.

There was the August 1 White House reception hosted by President Barack Obama marking the committee's 50th anniversary, held in the same East Room where President John F. Kennedy in effect launched the committee in 1963 after asking the rhetorical question, "Where are all the lawyers?" in the growing fight for civil rights.