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[link removed] [[link removed]] Hi John,
2023 has been an enormously productive and inspiring year at the Alliance for Justice (AFJ). And while there were challenges and setbacks, with this note, I want to celebrate all that you helped AFJ to accomplish. We launched new communications tools and programs (including the newsletter you now find yourself reading) and developed new campaign tools to support our work calling for ethics reform. We revitalized our programs, with a focus on supporting, amplifying and enhancing the work of grassroots and community organizations . We, alongside our allies, led the advocacy work to support the confirmation of the largest number of movement lawyers in history .
And we reimagined our outreach and membership program to center our member organizations across our programs , offer new services to build their power, and increase our focus on aligning organizations working on the most salient issues of our time.
All of our work is guided by our mission to build power, transform the courts, and create a multi-racial democracy that secures justice for all .
What follows is a ‘greatest hits’ list of accomplishments of the past year. None of which would be possible without you . Whether you support AFJ financially, share our content on social media, tell your friends about our work, or sign a petition, you are an important and vital part of all we do .
From all of us at AFJ, THANK YOU for standing with us. And if you have not yet made an end of year gift, it’s not too late! Your gift will be DOUBLED thanks to a generous benefactor who will match all donations 1:1. Thank you for your support!
Onward together,
Rakim
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P.S. Need a Last-Minute Gift Idea? [[link removed]]
Following the publication of his book, Art Works: How Organizers and Artists are Creating a Better World Together , AFJ held its monthly "holding court" webinar with author Ken Grossinger. His timely book makes the case that long-term change is possible only when we address the narratives that underlie progress. This beautifully written book explores the impact of collaboration among artists and organizers through the lens of civil rights and Black Lives Matter movements, as well as the environmental and immigrant justice movements. The book makes for great gifts for family, friends, and activists alike! It’s available wherever you buy books, such as HERE [[link removed]] .
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FEDERAL COURTS
Stylized graphic of the Capitol dome [[link removed]] As of December 20, 2023, the Biden Administration and Senate had confirmed 166 federal judges , including Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. That includes more than 103 women , over 100 people of color , 36 former public defenders , and 25 former civil rights lawyers who now sit on the federal bench.
AFJ’s Justice Program advocated for the importance of putting diverse movement lawyers on the bench, and prioritized individual nominees with policymakers, state officials, and the public to elevate the profiles of these outstanding lawyers and judges.
STATE COURTS
[link removed] [[link removed]] In May 2023, AFJ expanded our capacity for supporting judicial vacancies in state courts to working with state and local-level partners, organizations, and advocates, to identify and support judges through the pre-nominations process of filling these vacancies. This is bearing fruit. Earlier this year, a federal courts vacancy in Connecticut had three excellent candidates for nomination.
While the seat was filled with one person, a second person was appointed to the intermediate court, the court just below Connecticut’s Supreme Court, and the third had her hearing in November for a different federal court vacancy. Building a bridge between the federal courts and the state courts ensures that excellent candidates are being appointed at all levels.
We also are working more closely with member organizations on vacancies in their states. For instance, we worked with the New Pennsylvania Project on a c-3 compliant educational video [[link removed]] encouraging voters to vote their entire ballot this November. We are encouraged by increased engagement of the public around state court judges and hope that judges who were elevated this year like Justice Michael Noriega in New Jersey and Judge Dan McCaffery in Pennsylvania will protect the liberties of all people.
LEADING THE CHARGE FOR ETHICS REFORM
[link removed] [[link removed]] AFJ was the first to demand Justice Thomas’ resignation following the outrageous ethical violations exposed by ProPublica’s investigative series. Our campaign included paid media like taking over the LA Times homepage in May and the Washington Post homepage in October as the new SCOTUS term kicked off, events on the Hill with members of Congress and dozens of organizations, and a social media campaign to draw national attention and engage our allies in calling for his resignation. Our leadership brought others along .
In November, AFJ led 66 other organizations in a sign-on letter calling for Justice Thomas’s resignation - many joining the call for resignation for the first time. The Supreme Court has now issued its first-ever Code of Conduct. While the new code is wholly lacking in teeth and accountability mechanisms, our pressure campaign contributed to an environment in which the Court understood it had to account for some of its members' egregious conduct.
LATEST RESOURCES FROM BOLDER ADVOCACY
[link removed] [[link removed]] Bolder Advocacy, in partnership with The Democracy Capacity Project, rounded out the year by putting the finishing touches on our Practical Guidance – Nonprofit Lobbying series [[link removed]] . This one-of-a-kind resource ensures that advocates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia can easily navigate state and local policies as they lobby lawmakers, governors, and other government actors.
Lobbying is such an essential opportunity for nonprofits to improve the lives of their communities, and with states becoming bigger battlegrounds for so many issues, this resource comes at a crucial time. It’s free, and publicly available on both the Bolder Advocacy and Democracy Capacity Project [[link removed]] websites, and organizations are already putting it to use!
As of December 7, 2023, BA has held over 300 workshops, answered over 800 Technical Assistance hotline questions, supported over 2,000 nonprofit organizations and emboldened the work of over 6,500 nonprofit advocates. Earlier in 2023 Bolder Advocacy launched the Project Grant Rule Hub [[link removed]] to help foundations learn how to support advocacy (up to and including lobbying) in their grantmaking. Funders that want to support advocacy, now have the resources and understanding to do so.
OUR MEMBERSHIP & OUTREACH COMMUNITY
[link removed] [[link removed]] As part of the new strategic plan, AFJ renewed and deepened our commitment to our alliance of more than 150 member organizations. We organized our members into cohorts that reflect AFJ's focus areas: reproductive rights and gender justice, criminal justice reform, environment and climate, immigration, racial justice and civil rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, democracy and voting rights, health and disability rights, and labor and economic justice. Cohorts meet three times a year, providing opportunities to collaborate and amplify their work with support from AFJ staff and resources. We also launched a partnership with Midwest Academy to provide their social justice training to our members free of charge, training 90 staff from 27 organizations.
From all of us at AFJ, thank you for standing with us, thank you for supporting us and being a part of the fights. We’re stronger, together.
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