The Take Back #003: Marching for Our (Black and Brown Lives)

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…

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the DC Council approved a budget that will fund building school safety teams to create safe and supportive school communities without the presence of law enforcement, while simultaneously ending the incremental phase out of police from schools. In 2020, the council decided to phase out police in school environments and instead invest in the resources that address the root causes of violence. This investment never happened. Instead of taking the opportunity to radically invest in school safety, the proposed budget of $19.7 billion includes up to $5.4 million in recruitment and conversion bonuses to…

WASHINGTON, DC – Today the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division issued a joint resource on race discrimination in school discipline.  The resource reiterates the civil rights obligations schools have to protect students from discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and provides examples of investigations into discriminatory school discipline policies and practices and how those investigations were resolved.   “Black students and other students of color are experiencing escalated police violence, school push out, and attacks on their freedom to learn, grow…

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…

DENVER,CO–  Today, on behalf of Movimiento Poder, Advancement Project and Eric Maxfield Law, LLC asked the Denver District Court to allow it to intervene, or join,  in a lawsuit over the Denver Public School District Board of Education’s closed-door decision to suspend a policy prohibiting police in schools (the “Police Free Schools policy”). This reactionary decision came about in response to a tragic school shooting at East High School in Denver, and allows police in schools through June 2023. Movimiento Poder, a grassroots organization led by Denver parents and students who have organized for decades to…

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…

PHOENIX, AZ — Yesterday, Phoenix Union High School District (the District) heard testimony on a school safety committee’s recommendations, including on bringing School Resource Officers (SROs) to the District after voting to remove school police in 2020.  The District also temporarily extended an agreement with the city for off-duty police officers.  Young people with Puente Human Rights Movement spoke out about the harms of school policing and advocated against adopting the committee’s recommendations. “The District must follow through on its commitment to a community-driven vision of school safety, and must reject the school safety committee’s reactionary…

WASHINGTON, DC — In response to the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee, the National Campaign for Police Free Schools released these statements from Advancement Project and Alliance for Educational Justice, co-conveners of the campaign: “Once again we are mourning alongside a grieving community. We are devastated by the tragic murders of three children and three adults in Nashville. Young people deserve to be safe and nurtured while they learn and grow,” said Judith Browne Dianis, Executive Director of the Advancement Project. “In moments…

WASHINGTON, DC — The Denver Public School Board has suspended its policy prohibiting police in schools through the end of June. This sudden decision came about in response to a school shooting at East High School in Denver, the third shooting at that high school this year. It is the latest in a nationwide trend of decisions to walk back commitments made following the uprisings in 2020 to remove police from schools. “This hasty decision, made without community, is a reactionary approach that will only fail students and families.  Police do not…

Washington, DC — On February 16th, 2023, the Alexandria City Public School Board (ACPS) voted to approve a proposed budget for the 2024 school year that includes only minor increases in funding for student mental health supports and restorative practices. At the same time, the Board voted to add funding for security guards and equipment and adopted a recommendation that the city fund school police. This is the latest step to reverse the City Council’s 2021 commitment to permanently remove police from schools. “Though we are disappointed by this decision, the fight continues,” said Evelin Urrutia,…