Making Justice a Reality: June 2025 Grantee Update
Three major highways cross the city of Fresno, California, dramatically increasing airborne pollution.
Our grantees are achieving significant progress in advancing economic, environmental, racial, and social justice through strategic legal action. Read on to learn about three recent victories in cases we’ve helped fund through our Grant Program.
Friends of Calwa & Fresno Building Healthy Communities v. California Department of Transportation
Grantee: Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability
Amount Granted: $40,000
Year Awarded: 2023
Friends of Calwa & Fresno Building Healthy Communities v. California Department of Transportation is a multi-plaintiff environmental justice case challenging Caltrans’ approval of a highway expansion project that would increase air pollution in low-income communities of color in South Fresno. Leadership Counsel recently achieved a partial victory on appeal when the California Fifth Appellate Court ordered the Fresno Superior Court to vacate its prior decision dismissing the case and to conduct further hearings on whether Caltrans’ environmental review violated state law. In their report to us, Leadership Counsel highlighted their strategy of using litigation alongside policy advocacy and community organizing as key to the case’s success.
Avid Bookshop v. Taylor et al.
Grantee: Mitchell Shapiro Greenamyre & Funt LLP
Amount Granted: $10,650
Year Awarded: 2024
Avid Bookshop v. Taylor et al. is a First Amendment case against the Gwinnett County Jail in Lawrenceville, Georgia, for restricting incarcerated peoples’ access to books. Avid Bookshop is challenging the constitutionality of the Gwinnett County Jail’s mail policy that bars physical bookstores from shipping books to jail residents. In November 2024, the district court denied the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case. The case is currently in discovery, and the attorneys recently hired an expert using our grant funds.
Land et al. v. Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District
Grantee: Northern Justice Project
Amount Granted: $25,000
Year Awarded: 2024
Land et al. v. Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is a class action brought on behalf of children and their parents against the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District in Palmer, Alaska, seeking to end the district’s disproportionate use of restraint and seclusion on students with disabilities. In May, the case achieved a partial settlement that requires school district officials to notify a parent or guardian if a student is restrained or isolated, provide written reports, and electronically track these incidents. The case is still ongoing.