From Wisconsin to Georgia, Advancement Project is actively supporting partners in undoing the remnants of Jim Crow legacies that deprive communities of color of their right to vote due to felony convictions to end this barrier to voting once and for all.
We are taking steps towards the end of policing and incarceration by making changes locally, like ending cash bail in states like Michigan, removing police from traffic stops in Washington DC, and closing jails and prisons in Louisiana. Our national Police Free Schools campaign, co-convened by the Alliance of Educational Justice, has expanded to 20+ youth-led groups to remove police and policing from schools and offer community alternatives to safety. We also understand the connection between the violence faced in schools and the ongoing attacks on reproductive rights, especially for Black girls. We are working with groups in the South and across the county to demand safety and healing for Black girls and gender-expansive youth of color. To continue to protect and expand our voting rights, we are fighting voter suppression bills in Florida and Georgia on behalf of Black faith communities and Latinx civic engagement organizations.
Advancement Project deeply believes in the genius of ordinary people, relying on the leadership of young people, women, and other people typically pushed to the margins to lead the way. This is why we are investing in the leadership of communities of color disproportionately impacted by police violence and mass incarceration, people with felony convictions, young people, and Black girls to build the political power necessary to transform systems and build sustainable accountability.
King’s legacy depended on organizing to build toward the vision we deserve: the liberation for Black people and other communities of color and making the future what we dream of. Today and every day, Advancement Project is honoring his legacy in our work.
In solidarity,
Judith Browne Dianis
Advancement Project
