Because Justice Never Takes a Day Off - Advancement Project - Advancement Project

Because Justice Never Takes a Day Off

On April 28, 1999, Advancement Project National Office opened its doors. We were bright-eyed, yet already seasoned, ready to take on voting rights with a racial justice lens. We were winning cases and building a movement right out the door. Now that we have been addressing not only voting rights, but immigrant justice, criminal legal system issues and education justice for 20 years, some may ask what are we doing today to ensure the country’s next 20 years are freer for people of color?

Glad you asked.

Because injustice never takes a day off, we are hard at work at:

  • Fighting to end immigration detention.  The immigration detention system dehumanizes individuals at every level and is part of this country’s mass incarceration crisis.  Last week, our Immigrant Justice team testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, detailing the appalling conditions in Eloy Detention Center (AZ) and York County Prison (PA). There, individuals work for $1 a day, lack basic medical care and are denied basic hygiene and human dignity. “Detention centers” are prisons with atrocious conditions. We must end immigration detention today,” demanded Losmin Jimenez. Read her full testimony on our blog. 
  • Working to end felony disenfranchisement. Florida lawmakers are intent on passing legislation that will undercut the passage of rights restoration for Floridians with prior felony convictions. Earlier this month, Advancement Project National Office stood with the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) in opposing House Bill 7089 and Senate Bill 7086, Amendment 4 legislation that creates additional barriers to voting for Returning Citizens. Explore our opposition letters sent to the Florida Secretary of State. (And check out TIME magazine’s most 100 influential people of 2019 edition released this week highlighting FRRC Executive Director Desmond Meade)
  • Advocating for voting rights. States across the country have implemented restrictive voting rights due to Shelby v. Holder, the Supreme Court case that weakened the Voting Rights Act. To combat voter suppression and racially discriminatory voting laws, we’ve launched WeVoteWeCount.org with the W.K. Kellogg Racial Equity Anchor Collaboration. We’re collecting stories from voters who experienced or witnessed significant roadblocks to the polls. Help us shed light on unfair practices by submitting your story! Join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #WeVoteWeCount.

During our 20th anniversary year, we also intend to celebrate and honor all of our movement partners. Join us in Washington, DC on April 24, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Marvin. RSVP today. Our work won’t stop until people of color are free. Join us in our journey. With your support, we will get there.

KEEP READING

Advancement Project Reacts to Supreme Court Victory for Voters in Moore vs Harper

WASHINGTON, DC – In response to today’s Supreme Court decision on the Moore vs Harper case, Advancement Project executive director Judith Browne Dianis issued this statement: “Today’s decision is a tremendous victory for voters. We only narrowly escaped a world where the Supreme Court would have handed state legislators with the full blown power to manipulate elections and run rogue, taking away our power as voters and undermining democracy. However, this does not detract from what we already know to be true: that despite this win, access to the ballot for Black, Latinx, Indigenous…

Read More
White Paper Released as Louisiana Legislature Hears HB 396 to Streamline Voter Registration Process for People with Felony Convictions this Wednesday

New Orleans, LA – Today, Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), Advancement Project, and political scientist Dr. Ariel White released a new white paper titled “No Surrender, No Retreat! Removing Barriers to the Ballot Box for Formerly Incarcerated People in Louisiana.” The white paper unveils the 64-parish survey of the registrars of voters, while also highlighting the historical challenges faced by Louisiana voters with felony convictions when trying to register to vote.   Shockingly, only 23 out of 46 parishes, or 50%, correctly stated that…

Read More
Plaintiffs Challenging Florida’s SB 90 React to 11th Circuit Reversal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, a panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a district court decision and allowed Florida to continue to force communities of color to navigate unnecessary obstacles in order to vote.  This decision undercuts the thorough analysis of the district court which rightfully found that Florida’s SB 90 was adopted with the intent to discriminate against Black voters in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments as well as section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Additionally, the 11th Circuit reversed the decision by the lower court…

Read More
Advancement Project Releases Poll and Focus Group Data on Gen Z Voters of Color Spanning Four States

Advancement Project Releases Poll and Focus Group Data on Gen Z Voters of Color in Michigan, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia Issues that rose to the top include abortion access, the economy, and systemic racism and discrimination WASHINGTON D.C. – Today, Advancement Project released findings from a poll and focus groups of Gen Z voters of color (Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and Asian American and Pacific Islander) in Michigan, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. This survey was conducted by HIT Strategies in September 2022.  “We know that when our…

Read More
BREAKING: Court Denies Motion from Civil Rights Groups Challenging Georgia’s Voting Line Relief Ban

GEORGIA – The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia denied a motion for a preliminary injunction to suspend the line relief ban in Senate Bill 202. Line relief is the practice of distributing food, water and other support to voters stuck waiting in line at a polling place. The plaintiffs include local Black faith leaders and Georgia civil rights groups. In response, Jess Unger, Staff Attorney for the Power and Democracy program at Advancement Project National Office, released this statement: “The criminalization of people providing food and water to voters who are waiting to cast their…

Read More
Hearing in Lawsuit Challenging Georgia Anti-Voting Rights Law Weighs Impact of Line Relief Restrictions

GEORGIA —  The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia will be hearing motions for a preliminary injunction in the consolidated litigation challenging SB 202 (In Re Georgia Senate Bill 202). This hearing will consider the “line relief” provision that criminalizes those who provide voters waiting in line with food and water, which disproportionately impacts communities of color in Georgia who face some of the longest waiting times at the ballot box in the country.  SB 202 creates significant barriers for Black, Latinx and other voters of color…

Read More
Advancement Project National Office Condemns New Anti-Voting Rights Law in Florida that Creates Office of Election Crimes, Mandates Special Voter-Fraud Police Officers

FLORIDA – Moments ago, Governor DeSantis signed into law a bill passed by the Republican Florida legislature that claims to fight “voter fraud” by creating an Office of Election Crimes and mandating the appointment of “special” members of law enforcement.  This comes on the heels of the conclusion of a trial challenging SB 90, another anti-voting rights measure in Florida. This law was successfully challenged in court by several national and Florida civil rights and voting rights groups, including Advancement Project. Similar anti-voting rights bills…

Read More
Civil Rights Organizations Celebrate Decision in Florida Voting Rights Trial

Chief U.S. District Judge Mark Walker released a landmark decision today in the nationally-watched voting rights trial on Florida’s SB 90 bill to strike down key provisions of the law. This restrictive voting law passed by the Republican-majority legislature and Gov. DeSantis  would have put in place new constraints on the use of drop boxes and organizations conducting voter registration drives, among other measures that would significantly hinder access to the vote for millions of state residents.

Read More
Trial Challenging Florida’s SB 90 Voter Suppression Law Begins Today

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. —  A trial challenging SB 90 (League of Women Voters v Lee), a Florida measure to make it harder and in many ways impossible for Black and Brown people to vote, kicked off on Monday, Jan. 31. This is one of the first trials of the year challenging anti-voting laws at the state level. It comes just as national voting rights efforts have stalled, with the Senate recently failing to change rules on the filibuster to pass voting rights.  SB 90 was passed by the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis in spring…

Read More
Advancement Project National Office Statement on the Senate’s Failure to Pass Voting Rights Legislation

WASHINGTON — Last night, the Senate blocked the Freedom to Vote John R. Lewis Act from advancing to a final passage vote. In response to this, Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of the Advancement Project National Office released this statement: “Last night, all 50 Senate Republicans and two Senate Democrats voted to maintain the filibuster and block the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act from advancing to a final vote. These bills would protect voters and undo many of the barriers and restrictions that bar thousands of Black, Latinx, Asian, and…

Read More