Introduction Welcome, dear readers, to a journey through the intertwined threads of history, injustice, and the pursuit of a more equitable future. At Equal Justice USA (EJUSA), we set our focus with precision on dismantling the pervasive structures of anti-Blackness ingrained within the American criminal legal system. Historical Roots and the Legacy of Virginia Slave… Continue reading Unveiling the Roots
Tag: Black people
An Eye-Opening & Cathartic Trip to Alabama
EJUSA staff members and partners traveled to Montgomery, Alabama to visit Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. The tour group included partners from our Evangelical Network and Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty. Here are reflections from our staff. Demetrius Minor, Manager, Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty We… Continue reading An Eye-Opening & Cathartic Trip to Alabama
The Next Frontier
In 2016, we launched a groundbreaking program in Newark, NJ, that brought community members and police officers into the same room to explore trauma — especially as it is connected to encounters with policing. And we wanted to explore the trauma of both groups. Since then hundreds of community members and police officers have gone… Continue reading The Next Frontier
What I Know Today
They didn’t tackle me so much as deliver a hard body check. My phone — I was listening to a voicemail — fell to the ground but I kept my feet, off balance for a second before turning to face one of the guys mugging me. We were under a street lamp on a normally… Continue reading What I Know Today
Blocking Black History Is Just The Beginning
Black History Month ended yesterday. It’s traditionally been a month where we celebrate the achievements of Black people, some iconic and some lesser known but still vital to U.S. history. Our history is deep, long, complex, and incredibly inspiring to me. It is also an important lens for our work, which is why the growing… Continue reading Blocking Black History Is Just The Beginning
Our Priorities Must Shift
During his 2023 State of the Union Address, President Biden could mention investment into community violence interventions or non-carceral responses only by pairing it with his stated support for continued investment into policing (this comes on the heels of the Safer Communities Act, where the White House funded 100,000 police in communities across the U.S.). … Continue reading Our Priorities Must Shift
The Death of Tyre Nichols
We remain shaken by the murder of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man and father of a 4-year-old son, at the hands of Memphis police in a horrifying display of brutality. The pain we all feel is the too familiar, relentless trauma that policing inflicts. We have been here so many times before. After Minneapolis… Continue reading The Death of Tyre Nichols
A Review of Who We Are
Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, a focal point during the Civil Rights Movement, I had been to museums and monuments around the city that honor activists and organizers from the sixties. I’ve read every plaque, and I know every story where a Black person was denied access to a building during segregation. The steps leading… Continue reading A Review of Who We Are