They will share a story all too common: of a Black student punished
and forced out of school for a minor, unproven offense.
Alabama teen to join SPLC delegation at UN forum on racial
discrimination
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Esther Schrader Read the full piece here
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Friend,
When it feels like justice is an ocean away, sometimes you have to
cross the water.
A soft-spoken 19-year-old named CJ Jones and his dad will do just that
next week. They will fly from their home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to
Geneva, Switzerland, to tell the United Nations what officials in
CJ's native state didn't want to hear: that the
teenager's high school years were cut short, and his future
nearly derailed, by a school disciplinary system with a history of
disproportionately and arbitrarily punishing Black students.
Accompanied by a delegation from the Southern Poverty Law Center from
April 16-19, the pair will address the United Nations Permanent Forum
on People of African Descent
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. They will share a story all too common: of a Black student punished
and forced out of school for a minor, unproven offense. In CJ's
case, school officials claimed he was in possession of a small amount
of marijuana found in a car parked at the school. But the then-high
school senior was a passenger in the car, no evidence ever tied him to
the drug, and the police eventually charged someone else.
What should have been a triumphant senior year as a star of his high
school baseball team devolved instead into a time of loneliness and
mistrust. CJ, whose full name is being withheld because he was a minor
at the time of the incident, was warehoused at in-school suspension
for months without due process. Then, he was told after a school
hearing - at which he was not allowed to tell his story, be
represented by a lawyer or present evidence - that he was being
sent to an "alternative" school. He withdrew instead and
finished his degree requirements through a home-schooling program.
"Nobody, nobody was listening to me," CJ said. "I
told them the truth, and nobody listened."
The U.N. may seem an odd forum for the SPLC to speak on injustices
levied by school districts in the U.S. But the SPLC's upcoming
participation in the forum is part of an evolving strategy to use the
power of international condemnation to shine a light on the enduring
injustices at home.
Read More
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In solidarity,
Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center
The SPLC is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond,
working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy,
strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of
all people.
Friend, will you make a gift to help the SPLC fight for
justice and equity in courts and combat white supremacy?
Donate Now
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