SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Read and share the extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change
Class Action Brings Relief To Black Students Unfairly Targeted For Suspension
A 2018 study by San Diego State and UCLA researchers confirmed Sacramento's record of suspending Black students more frequently. In response, we decided to organize a Parent Listening Session to understand how our Black families were coping with the issues identified in the report. I didn't expect much turnout on a Saturday morning and attended out of mere curiosity. One by one, parents shared their harrowing experiences. The stories were powerful and deeply moving. By the end of the session, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The neglect and mistreatment these families endured at the hands of the district was heart-wrenching. The idea of a lawsuit, which had been lingering in our minds, became a definitive decision by the end of the meeting.
California Racial Justice Act Could Be a Check on Racist Gang Injunctions
Gangs are commonly associated with organized crime and terror. However, young people typically join gangs to find community, not to commit violent crime. The concept of a gang has racial implication as well, due to historical discrimination of young Black and Brown men. When we think of white supremacist organizations that commit violent crime, they are usually called “groups,” a word with much less stigma surrounding it. Because of the negative and violent associations pushed by the media and government around gangs, the public fear of gang violence increased from the late 20th century to the early 21st century. In an attempt to curb gang violence and reduce fear surrounding gangs, local governments across the country have implemented gang injunctions.
Systems Not Symptoms - Impact Fund Grant Program Tackles Racial Injustice Head On
“While we are a small funder, we are in complete solidarity with the movement to end the killing of unarmed Black men by police, as well as all other police brutality. That the list of names of men who have been so killed is so long that it would take up more than a whole page is a commentary on how police have been protected from accountability, at least until now. They have been protected by police unions who block the imposition of discipline. They have been protected by politicians who want to be seen as ‘tough on crime’ and pass laws that make it next to impossible for the public to find out which officers are engaging in brutality against people. And they are protected by the courts that make up rules like ‘qualified immunity’ that let police off the hook when brought to court. We recognize that the police function as part of the system that has been called the criminal justice system, they are but one part. That whole system is what gave us mass incarceration. And the whole system now must come down.”
Class Action Hero, Sylvester McClain, Stands Up To Racial Discrimination
When I returned to civilian life in 1969, I found Lufkin, Texas, to be much the same. The “White Only” signs might have been gone, but segregation was not.Lufkin Industries was the best paying employer around. It was understood the job assignments were segregated - blacks got mostly unskilled labor assignments under the worst conditions – but it was our best opportunity to support our families. The contrast with the integration efforts in the Marines was difficult to accept. It was rough. After a few months, I was temporarily blinded in a welding accident. My boss didn’t offer any medical attention or even a ride...
Class Action Victory for Racial Justice Protesters in Berkeley
Sam Wolson, a photojournalist who was on assignment by the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper at the protest, was clubbed on the head as he knelt to take a photo. Wolson remarked afterward that, “If you can’t have media safely holding all parties accountable, the whole system breaks down.”
Black Lives Matter: Advocating for Racial Justice in St. Louis County
In May of 2016, Quinton Thomas, a native St Louisan was pulled over in Beverly Hills, a Missouri town of 574 people that is 93% black and receives 26% of its general revenue from court fines and fees. Mr. Thomas was driving his friend to a barber shop to get his haircut when he was stopped by police for having a “busted front bumper.” In the past three years, Mr. Thomas has been pulled over, arrested and jailed for unpaid traffic tickets, and as a result he has lost two jobs and one vehicle, not to mention days of his life, and a sense of safety when he gets behind the wheel.