Civil Rights Cold Files Unlocked: 857 Pages of History Spill
Published Date: 5/6/2025
Notice
Summary
The Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board decided which parts of 857 pages of old case files can be shared with the public and which parts need to stay secret a bit longer. This affects records from the National Archives, DOJ, and FBI, with some info set to be released by April 23, 2025. No money changes here, just a big step toward opening up important civil rights history!
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Release of Cold Case Records
On April 23, 2025, the Review Board determined that 648 pages in full and 209 pages in part from 857 pages of records related to two civil rights cold cases will be publicly disclosed in the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection. These records came from NARA, the Department of Justice, and the FBI and will be available to the public as described in the Board's notice.
Postponement of Some Records
The Review Board approved 489 postponements and portions of 28 additional postponements of disclosure on April 23, 2025, out of 1,422 postponements proposed by the DOJ and FBI (97 proposed postponements had been withdrawn). That means parts of these case files will remain restricted from public release for a longer period.
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Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-03814 — Notice of Formal Determination on Records Release
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2026-13274 — Notice of Formal Determination on Records Release
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