We’re deepening our work

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Hello ,

As my staff and I reflect on the loss of Black lives over the past year, we are intensifying our commitment to advance racial justice. NCLEJ does this work in a challenging context. Many expressed relief last month at the jury’s verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin for taking George Floyd’s life in May 2020 – calling it a landmark decision. Sadly, this verdict alone does make the criminal legal system more just.

We must remember that it is incredibly rare for police officers involved in killing civilians to be convicted or even face charges at all. That is why NCLEJ builds power at the grassroots to challenge racial discrimination at its very root through groundbreaking impact litigation.

Image of a protestor with the text Strengthen economic and racial justice movements

One way NCLEJ is doing this is by working with communities of color in Buffalo, NY, and Montgomery, AL to hold police accountable and promote transparency. We are challenging unlawful police checkpoints and the improper jailing of disadvantaged people for inability to pay court fines and fees. We know that every interaction with law enforcement entangles people in the criminal justice system, so we’ve been in coalition fighting to make sure people don’t lose their driver’s licenses simply because they can’t pay traffic tickets and fines.

Here is the impact we are making with our grassroots partners:

Our lawsuit in Buffalo prompted a 50% reduction in ticketing. We’re working with a new, growing Buffalo network of community organizations, the Fair Fines + Fees Coalition, to advance more bold reform.
In Montgomery, we have a lawsuit to redress unlawful jailing of people of color, a vicious scheme that separated families and relentlessly harvested revenue from Black communities.
NCLEJ supports a statewide coalition in Alabama to end the practice of suspending driver’s licenses for unpaid fines and fees. And we won drivers’ license suspension reform in New York this year!

But so much more remains to be done to end discriminatory police practices. We need your support to nourish this urgent work.

Join us in this fight for justice by making a gift of $250, $500, $1000 or more to our Racial Justice Fund. You can also become a monthly sustainer with a gift of any amount. Your generous gift will support the work of NCLEJ activist attorneys and our grassroots partners to stay the course and replicate our tactics to win victories hand-in-hand with other communities of color.

As we fortify our commitment to ongoing racial justice work and expand our efforts, we continue to mourn the devastating losses of Philando Castile, Daunte Wright, and countless others killed over minor traffic violations or for no violation at all. We will see real justice and safety when the lives and livelihoods of Black and Brown people are valued and protected.

Please contribute to our Racial Justice Fund to help us seize immediate opportunities to advance racial justice and safety for all of our communities.

Thank you for supporting NCLEJ and the grassroots movements that are driving the change we all need. Stay connected with us on Twitter or Facebook to get our action updates daily.

In solidarity,

Dennis and the NCLEJ team

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