COMMUNITY JUSTICE RESOURCE CENTER NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
Volume 2, Issue 1
January 15, 2004

 

FEATURES

Life, Lessons, and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
By Edward Hailes, Jr.
Senior Attorney, Advancement Project
This month we celebrate the life, lessons and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Many people will take the time to commemorate the Federal holiday that marks his birthday with programs, promises and protests. At the same time, pundits as well as pupils will praise his oratorical prowess and talk about the "I Have a Dream" speech. They will choose to showcase words that spell out King's hope for a better America; yet, they will forget King's rigid reminder that after sincere and even ardent welcoming of change is announced, too quickly apathy and disinterest rise to the surface when the next logical steps are to be taken to implement the change. The greatest tribute we can give to Dr. King is to work to make America better not just to talk about a better America. The work is greater than the words. Click here to read the entire article.

A Community "Speak Out" for Police Accountability
The Interfaith Coalition for Neighborhood Police Partnerships and The Justice Coalition for Alberta Spruill and Ousmane Zongo are sponsoring the first in a series of community forums on Thursday, January 15, 2004 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM at the Convent Avenue Baptist Church Lecture Hall located at 420 W. 145th Street in New York City. Participants will develop standards for ensuring that police are accountable to the community, and a proactive system that will encourage good police conduct and punish misconduct. Participants will also create plans of action that can be implemented in their neighborhood precincts and on a city wide level. For more information, please call 1-800-209-3468 or 1-877-703-3376.

Advancement Project 2004 Calendar
Advancement Project has released a 2004 calendar, which focuses on this election year. It highlights important election dates and other information pertinent to the voting process. Included are registration deadline dates for presidential and congressional primaries along with primary and caucus dates. Additionally, the calendar includes a variety of other important holidays and historical dates that are of interest to the social and racial justice community. We encourage you to use this calendar to mobilize voters in 2004. Please contact us if you would like a calendar.

NEWSMAKERS

When Race No Longer Matters
By: Constance L. Rice, Advancement Project
These lists were complied in response to the recently defeated California ballot initiative - Proposition 54 - which was touted as an effort to create a color-blind society. Click here to read the entire list.

An Open Letter to African Americans From Latinos
By: Elizabeth "Betitia" Martínez
People of color are being hurt more than ever today, thanks to the "Permanent War on Terrorism" and the war at home. It, therefore, seems more important than ever to build alliances between people who have similar struggles for liberation from poverty and racism, for peace with justice. This open letter is offered in that spirit. Click here to read the entire article.

Promises, Promises
By: Christian Covington and Elder Margaret Shafer
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Last year was not a good one for the NYPD in the community-police relations category. As the heroism of Sept 11th takes its place in the overall picture, we notice from acts of discourtesy to the excessive use of force, the conduct of NYPD officers again paints a tarnished image in the eyes of many New Yorkers, particularly residents of color. Click here to read the entire piece.

FUNDING RESOURCES

Funding/Resource Opportunities for Community Justice Practitioners
This updated list provides information about a few of the funding resources that are available to community justice practitioners. We plan to update this resource periodically as we learn of new opportunities. Please contact us with any opportunities of which you know and we will add them to this new resource. This list includes programs with upcoming deadlines as well as a few opportunities with rolling deadlines.

CASE STUDIES/SUCCESS STORIES

PolicyLink shares Community Success Stories about: Community Reinvestment and Children's Healthcare
Through PolicyLink's "success stories" you can read about community efforts in a number of cities and states, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Portland, Oregon. Click on www.policylink.org to access thirty-three different community stories!

Fighting for Justice on the Delmarva Peninsula

The Blooming of El Cenizo

POINTS OF INTEREST

Revised Edition of Powerful Resource for Immigrant Workers' Advocates
The National Employment Law Project has released an updated version of: Low Pay, High Risk: State Models for Advancing Immigrant Workers' Rights. The revised edition covers various efforts for achieving immigrant workers' rights in five areas: language access; confidentiality of immigrant status; drivers' license access; post Hoffman Plastics issues and workers' compensation. This report is available at: www.nelp.org.

New Report Highlights Racial Profiling Through Personal Testimonies
The Applied Research Center (ARC) has created a timely report entitled, The Public's Truth - Los Angeles: Stories of Racial Profiling and the Attack on Civil Liberties, documenting the experiences of community members with post-9/11 policies and practices. These testimonies were shared during the "Public's Truth," an event held on September 13, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. This report is available at: www.arc.org.

New Report Finds That Living Wage Laws Are Smart Economic Development At A Lower Than Expected Cost
More than one hundred local governments have enacted "living wage" laws across the country, and dozens of municipalities are currently considering them. As lawmakers and voters consider passing "living wage" bills, questions arise about what these higher wages will cost and how they will impact economic development. A new report by the Brennan Center for Justice, Living Wages Laws: Smarter Economic Development, Lower Than Expected Costs, details that these laws have improved economic development in communities and have cost much less to implement than most analysts initially expected.  For a copy of the report please visit http://www.brennancenter.org.

NEW HANDBOOK UNVEILED TO HELP FORMERLY INCARCERATED PEOPLE RESTORE THEIR VOTING RIGHTS
A new handbook recently released by Advancement Project, a legal and policy action group, provides detailed guidance on how formerly incarcerated people can regain the right to vote in the state of Virginia. To obtain a copy of the handbook click here.

Southern Catalyst Network offers helpful Media Center
If you are interested in using the media to get your message out, you will find quick and easy access to a list of media contacts in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, or Tennessee by visiting the Media Center at: www.southerncatalyst.org.

Interfaith Coalition for Neighborhood-Police Partnerships
The Interfaith Coalition for Neighborhood-Police Partnerships has released a new newsletter detailing their activities and other pertinent information. Click here to read the newsletter.

Multi-Racial Grass Roots Coalition Defeats California's Proposition 54
By Jade Poljak, Advancement Project Intern
On October 7, 2003 California voters did not only recall a Governor, they also overwhelmingly said NO to a ballot initiative - the Race Information Ban- known as Proposition 54. In a state often heralded for progressive politics, but lately known more infamously for approving a number of conservative initiatives that attack immigrant and minority rights, the landslide 64-36 % victory demonstrates the importance of coalition organizing to the preservation of a racially just democracy. Exit polls showed that reaching the minority voters was the crucial factor: while only 58% of the whites voted against the proposition, a whopping 79% of blacks and 70% of Hispanics did so (USA Today, Oct. 9, 2003). Click here to read the entire article.

This newsletter is supported in part by grants from the Program on Law & Society of the Open Society Institute, Ford Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation.