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(CNN) -- The first speech Eric Holder gave after he announced his upcoming resignation was fittingly at an event hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus, where the nation's first African-American attorney general said he's most proud of his efforts to protect voting rights laws.

"This work has been a top priority since I took office," he said.

After the Supreme Court rolled back key provisions of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby v. Holder last year, a decision Holder called "deeply flawed," the Justice Department aggressively challenged new laws that popped up in states around the country -- including North Carolina, Wisconsin, Ohio and Texas -- where lawmakers imposed more requirements, including a voter ID, to be allowed to vote.

At the event on Friday, Holder reminded the predominantly black audience of the progress that has been made since the passage of the Civil Rights Act 50 years ago, but he insisted that more has to be done.

"I want you to know that my commitment to this work will never waver, and in the meantime there remains, I think, a great deal that needs to be done," he said.

Holder's role in civil rights issues has been central to his tenure.

Changes in criminal justice system

He has also undertaken to improve the strained relationship between police and communities of color and worked to reduce sentences for some drug offenders, alter police officers' protocol for searches and arrests, restore felons' voting rights and improve the treatment of felons after their release.

Friday, he announced a new initiative focused on reducing the number of teens who enter into the juvenile justice system.

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Holder: My work on voting rights most important