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Because Justice Never Takes a Day Off

April 19, 2019

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.