Gerald A. Reynolds

Gerald A. Reynolds (1964-) is an American politician and lawyer, and the current chair of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, a position to which he was appointed by President George W. Bush on December 6, 2004. He succeeded Mary Frances Berry. He also serves as the Assistant General Counsel at Great Plains Energy, providing stategic advice to the company and managing the daily operations of its law department.

Reynolds received his law degree from Boston University School of Law, where he served on the editorial board of the American Journal of Law and Medicine. He received his B.A. in History from York College.

Prior to his government work, he served as the President of the Center for New Black Leadership, and worked as a legal analyst for the Center for Equal Opportunity. He practiced law with Schatz & Schatz, Ribicoff & Kotkin, a firm based out of Connecticut. He continues to serve on the National Advisory Board of Project 21, a program within the National Center for Public Policy Research, that seeks to privide a forum for conservatives within the black community.

On March 29, 2002, Reynolds was appointed by Bush to the position of Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights. Notable for being an African-American opposed to affirmative action, he managed one of the largest civil rights law enforcement agencies within the federal government, and revised civil rights regulations.

He later served as a Deputy Associate Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, providing legal advice on various matters to the Associate Attorney General.

He has also written articles on public policy issues, which were published in various publications, including Black Family Today, The Dallas Morning News, The CQ Researcher, Orange Register and The Washington Times. He also edited a book on race within the criminal justice system.