In 1992, former ABA President Bernard G. and Geraldine R. Segal established a Segal Fund for Civil Rights to be administered by the Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities to advance civil rights interests in the legal community and among the general public. In addition, it is intended to help ensure the legal profession’s continued commitment to the advancement of civil rights in the United States. Bernard Segal, ABA President in 1970-71, was a lifelong advocate of constitutional rights protections for racial minorities, women, the poor, and the disadvantaged, and his wife, Dr. Geraldine Segal, demonstrated an equal commitment as a spokesperson for civil rights and civil liberties.

The Fund's inaugural project was a 1993 conference entitled, “Challenging the Dream: Civil Rights in the 1990s.” The program’s highlight was the first major address by recently appointed U. S. Attorney General Janet Reno, who outlined the Clinton Administration’s civil rights priorities and the Justice Department’s specific objectives in this area for the next several years. Speakers and participants, all national leaders in the civil rights movement, the government, and the Bar, exchanged views on legislative and policy priorities for advancing civil rights, for identifying areas of consensus, and for exploring emerging issue areas and the possible need to address them in innovative ways. The conference, which focused particularly on employment issues, was notable for bringing together for the first time in the U. S. Department of Justice's Great Hall the wide range of groups and interests that comprise the civil rights community in the 1990s.

In May 1999, the Section launched a second Fund-sponsored initiative with the publication of Tools for Schools: A Handbook for Lawyers' Involvement in Improving Student Education. The handbook describes a representative sampling of programs around the country through which lawyers are helping address critical public school needs in their local communities. The handbook is the prototype for a planned series of publications describing ways in which lawyers can provide pro bono community service in civil rights-related areas.