FarmSTAND’s Post

The issues we are facing as a country, an organization and a movement are not new, but the methods, foes and tactics are changing. To advance towards justice and equity, we must change as well. We at The National Urban League are taking on a new phase of civil rights advocacy with our D3 Campaign. D3 consists of three guiding action calls: Defend Democracy, Demand Diversity and Defeat Poverty. Find out more information: https://buff.ly/3O1We85

Policy happens for those who participate! This week, we would like to highlight the Economic Development sector within our recently-released Policy Platform. Within this, we aim to focus our efforts on eliminating racial health disparities in our economic system. To find our full policy platform, please go to NHCJE.ORG/RESOURCES The NHCJE Policy Platform: a document that defines the foci for our Public Policy work. This work is organized across each of our six sectors of effort– Civic Engagement, Economic Development, Education, Government, Health, and Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice. Each sector includes where we intend to focus our energies, and a list of priorities that fall within that focus.

History of California Housing Segregation  - PDF: https://lnkd.in/g_dHDm3G Constitutionally Sanctioned Housing Discrimination - The reason housing segregation has never been fixed in America is due in part to the Supreme Court. As discussed in Chapter 2, Enslavement, and Chapter 4, Political Disenfranchisement, although the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution banned actions that continued the effects of slavery, the Supreme Court of the United States decided in 1883 that the federal government could not prohibit racial discrimination by individual business owners and private parties.23 This ruling later applied to housing.24 As a result, government and private actors essentially ignored the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and Fourteenth Amendment protections against racial discrimination until Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968.25  The story did not end here. At the height of segregation in the 1970s, the U.S. Supreme Court popularized the myth that the American government had no role in creating housing segregation, and therefore should not and could not fix the personal choices of millions of private citizens. #housingsegregation #civilrights #housing #discrimination #USConstitution #14Amendment #residentialsegregation #whitesupremacy

I woke up thinking about The Preamble to the Constitution this morning. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." This statement lays out the Framers' primary goals: democratic governance, effective administration, justice, freedom, and equality... Which of these ambitions can we achieve if we don't ensure civil access to justice for everyone? That's right. None of them. That's why these First Amendment lawsuits underway in New York (Upsolve), South Carolina (NAACP), and North Carolina (NC Justice for All Project) are so critical. These federal challenges confront the constraints imposed by too-narrowly-tailored Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) statutes, which impact millions by obstructing their ability to assert their civil legal rights. These lawsuits are a move in the right direction. A savvy lawyer once shared with me, "Lawyers don't have a monopoly on creating the law. They don't have a monopoly on enforcing the law. They shouldn't have a monopoly on practicing the law." Justice must be blind to ensure fairness, yet our legal system must neither be deaf to the pleas of those seeking justice nor mute in its responses to their needs. Every plea for justice must be heard and answered. #freespeech #unauthorizedtohelpothers #lawyersthatgetit #ladyjustice

Check out the upcoming Law Day lecture:

As part of the Racial Justice Speaker Series, Boston University School of Law Professor Aziza Ahmed will deliver the Bodenheimer Lecture – "Essential Worker, Expendable Family?" – on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 12 p.m. RSVP: https://lnkd.in/gCEJQs-j Drawing on insights from political economy and feminist legal theory, this talk will explore why and how the family has been exceptionalized in the response to public health crises. #UCDavisLaw #UCDavis #KingHall #HealthLaw #FamilyLaw

Challenges facing states States face complex challenges in their efforts to protect public safety, reduce recidivism, respond to the unique needs of justice-involved individuals returning to communities from jail and prison, and improve services for victims of crime. State policymakers are concerned about upticks in violent crime, high rates of recidivism, increases in overdose deaths, rebounding prison populations, and the need for quality mental health services. Public policy responses tested throughout the country, however, show there are effective ways to understand and address these concerns while ensuring public safety. JRI solution Through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative (JRI), state leaders work with experts to conduct agency-spanning data analysis; develop and implement data-driven, tailored solutions to address complicated criminal justice challenges; and maximize resources to achieve stronger and safer communities.

Reforming Connecticut's education into a model of fairness, justice, and equity is imperative. We advocate for everyone's dignity and equality, fighting against discrimination. Our grantees' work is rooted in that belief. For our June Grant Cycle, ensure your Letters of Intent (LOI) are in by March 8. Our commitment lies in backing initiatives that share our vision for progress. #zerodiscriminationday

According to Lost Instruction Time in California Schools: The Disparate Harm from Post-Pandemic Punitive Suspensions (National Center for Youth Law & Civil Rights Project), San Francisco is one of eight counties with the highest rate of lost instruction for African American students, up 3.9% from pre-pandemic years. Foster and homeless youth also have the highest rates of lost instruction, which can cause negative repercussions. Learn more at: https://lnkd.in/gYCXTUuA

Join me in this virtual lecture where I will share insights from my book, Bodies Out of Place: Theorizing Anti-blackness in U. S. Society.