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SCSJ Files Injunction Against Greensboro City Council

UPDATE: Exhibit E has been added to the documents below. A complaint and request for declaratory relief has also been added, as well as a motion for a temporary restraining order. Contact: May 31 , 2011 Chris Brook: 919 - 323 – 3380 ext. 113 chrisbrook@southerncoalition.org **FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** SCSJ Files Injunction Against Greensboro City Council GREENSBORO, NC—The Southern Coalition for Social Justice has filed an injunction in Guilford County Superior Court against the Greensboro City Council to prevent it from entering into a contract with a private company for the operation of the White Street Landfill. The council is moving forward with its plan after being warned of its legal obligations by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Phase III of the White Street Landfill is expected to reach its capacity within the next four years. Since the city intends to enter into a contract for a minimum fifteen years, expanding the landfill and new permits will be required. Future phases would qualify as “new sanitary landfills”; in order to open a new sanitary landfill, the council is required under North Carolina General Statute 160A-325 to consider other sites, hold a public hearing and consider socioeconomic data. So far the council has proceeded in spite of city residents rather than with their support. “I’m really disappointed with the council. It’s not listening to the citizens,” said Goldie Wells, a leader in Citizens for Economic and Environmental Justice, as well as a former member of the Greensboro City Council from 2005 to 2009. “It’s a betrayal of trust. It changed in 2001, then all the changes in 2006; now to come back 5 years later and change it again, it causes mistrust.” CEEJ is one of the complainants in the case, along with the League of Women Voters and several residents of the neighborhood near the proposed landfill. The city has failed to comply with the statute potentially to the detriment of its residents. The council will make a decision with serious costs, in the form of lost tax revenue, property value, environmental and health costs. The issue that will bring the case to court, however, is its failure to make its decision in accordance to state law. “Other cities are looking at what we’re doing—having meeting for 5-7hours, 15 speakers against and then going forward with the same decision,” said Wells, frustrated with the insistence of the council to reopen the landfill against the protest of area residents. “It’s ridiculous, to tell you the truth.” ### The Southern Coalition for Social Justice is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in August, 2007 in Durham, North Carolina by a multi-disciplinary group, predominantly people of color, who believe that families and communities engaged in social justice struggles need a team of lawyers, social scientists, community organizers and media specialists to support them in their efforts to dismantle structural racism and oppression. NOTE: Exhibits A-X are available below. Exhibits Y and Z from Waste Industries are available from the Greensboro City website: Exhibit Y Exhibit Z Request for Declaratory Relief Motion for Temporary Restraining Order

New Hill Community Association Settles Litigation For More Than $500,000 in Community Benefits

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, January 28, 2011 New Hill, NC--The New Hill Community Association has settled its litigation against the Western Wake Partners over their decision to site a wastewater treatment facility in their community. Represented for the past two years by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, the Association received $500,000 to build a community center, a long-held goal of New Hill residents. "During the course of our efforts, our community has come together as never before with neighbors becoming friends,” said Rev. James Clanton, Pastor of the First Baptist Church New Hill. Rev. Clanton, who serves as New Hill Community Association Secretary and was recently awarded the Florenza Moore Grant Community Environmental Justice Award, continued, “These efforts will help mitigate impacts to our community." The Partners will also connect the community center to the new wastewater treatment facility free of charge as well as constructing two bus stops for community children as part of the settlement. The Partners had already agreed to hook up individuals living closest to the facility to water and sewer, improving upon their original plans by clarifying they would handle all expenses and pay directly to water and sewer contractors instead of requiring residents to wait for reimbursements. SCSJ staff attorney Chris Brook echoed Rev. Clanton’s sentiments saying, “SCSJ was proud to work with NHCA in their quest for environmental justice and know the settlement represents a huge step to realizing the New Hill community’s goals.” Contact: Chris Brook, attorney Southern Coalition for Social Justice (919) 323-3380 Chris@SouthernCoaltion.org Paul Barth President, New Hill Community Association (919) 539-8736

New Hill Community Association wins Indy Citizen Award

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, November 24, 2010 Durham, NC- The New Hill Community Association, which is waging a battle against placement of a sewage plant in the center of their historic district by the affluent towns of Cary, Apex and Morrisville, has been awarded the prestigious Indy Citizen Award by the Independent Weekly, a Durham-based Triangle newspaper. The Indy Citizen Award honors “people and groups whose activism has positively impacted their communities, whether it's one neighborhood, a city or several counties." In accepting the award, NHCA President Paul Barth said, “We are humbled by this recognition and support for our efforts. This has truly been a community effort to protect our predominantly African-American community from becoming a dumping ground for our wealthy neighbors.” The struggle of the New Hill Community is winning wide recognition for the justness of its cause and for the valor of the residents waging the struggle. Recently Rev. Clanton won the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network’s Florenza Moore Grant Community Award for 2010 for his "faithful work to protect the citizens, community and environment of New Hill." The New Hill Community Association recently scored a victory when the town of Holly Springs recently withdrew from the Western Wake Partners the conglomerate of towns attempting to cite their sewage plant in New Hill. On behalf of the New Hill Community Association (NHCA), the Southern Coalition for Social Justice recently filed a Petition for Contested Case Hearing in the state Office of Administrative Hearings to challenge the Western Wake Partners' proposed placement of a sewage treatment plant in the center of the New Hill community. Dozens of New Hill residents also recently participated in a public hearing in Apex, questioning the Western Wake Partner's plan to discharge from the proposed sewage treatment plant into a distressed portion of the Cape Fear River. Contact: Chris Brook, attorney Southern Coalition for Social Justice (919) 323-3380 Chris@SouthernCoalition.org Paul Barth President, New Hill Community Association (919) 539-8736

Packed House Kicks Off Fair Hiring Campaign

SECOND CHANCE ALLIANCE MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 16, 2010 Durham, NC: A campaign for fair employment for people with a conviction history got off to a spirited start last night at an overflow meeting convened by the Durham Second Chance Alliance. More than 150 people came together at Durham’s main library to say: “We deserve a Second Chance.” They vowed to move ordinances before the Durham City Council and Durham County Commissioners removing the box that asks whether an applicant has ever been arrested or convicted of a crime from employment applications. “I refuse to be defined by the worst mistake I ever made.” “I should not be prohibited from employment for the rest of my life because of a stupid move I made a long time ago.” “I have come a long way, and I deserve a chance to make a living and support my family.” These and other stories were shared by meeting participants. More than 1.6 million people in North Carolina have criminal records; many are African American. In Durham County nearly 4,000 people are currently on probation or parole and thousands more have criminal convictions. They face constant discrimination in hiring, housing, and services which undermines their families and whole communities. “Employment is crucial to reduce recidivism-returning to prison, resulting in a safer community and lower cost to taxpayers,” argues Gilda Womble of the Second Chance Alliance. The Second Chance Alliance was initiated by InStepp, Inc., North Carolina Justice Center, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Southside Neighborhood Association, Organization for D.A.D.S. and Action NC. The next step in the campaign is a noontime rally at Durham City Hall on Dec. 13. More than 24 cities and several states have passed “Ban the Box” ordinances, as such fair hiring initiatives are often called. “We understand that a person’s complete background and qualifications must be considered before they are offered a job,” says Alliance member Daryl Atkinson. But a person’s conviction history should only be considered when it might actually affect a person’s ability to do the specific job applied for.” The group plans to bring an ordinance before the Durham City Council by the end of January 2011. Contact: Bob Wing, Organizing and Media Coordinator Southern Coalition for Social Justice 919-323-3380 Gilda Womble, Executive Director InStepp, Inc. 919-680-8000 Ajamu Dillahunt, Community Outreach Coordinator NC Justice Center 919-856-3194

New Hill Community Association Sues to Stop Partners From Dumping Sewage on New Hill

Durham, NC – On behalf of the New Hill Community Association (NHCA), the Southern Coalition for Social Justice has filed a Petition for Contested Case Hearing in the state Office of Administrative Hearings to challenge the Western Wake Partners’ proposed placement of a sewage treatment plant in the center of the New Hill community. “We have been willing to host the Partners’ sewage treatment plant so long as it was not in the middle of our community, but the Partners won’t meet us halfway,” says Rev. James E. Clanton of the First Baptist Church New Hill and a leader and a leader in the NHCA. “It is unfortunate we have to resort to litigation to have our voices heard.” The Petition contests the issuance of a 401 Water Quality Certification by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Water Quality (DWQ). It highlights deficiencies in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, which the 401 Water Quality Certification relied upon heavily. The Petition requests a hearing on these issues and seeks an injunction to prevent site construction until a hearing can be held. Among the specific concerns documented in the Petition are that: - Site 14 has larger human and environmental justice impacts than other, more suitable alternatives, including land previously condemned by Progress Energy in the same general vicinity. - Noise, odor, traffic, and light spill from the sewage treatment plant will impact the New Hill Historic District, including the predominantly African-American First Baptist Church and cemetery. - Western Wake Partners reverse-engineered Site 14 by prematurely committing nearly $10 million to the site before considering its human and environmental impacts. This commitment of resources prevented an unbiased consideration of better, alternative sites in the same general vicinity. “There are better places to put this plant. We understand the Partners’ needs for additional sewage capacity. We simply ask that they do not put the burdens of their growth in the middle of our community, next to our churches,” said Elaine Joyner, a congregant at First Baptist Church New Hill. The filing of the Petition is a turning point in the five year struggle pitting the overwhelmingly African-American residents of New Hill against some of the state’s wealthiest municipalities. To pay costs associated with litigation, New Hill recently held a barbecue fundraiser at the First Baptist Church New Hill and raised $4,648. Additional litigation support came from a $10,000 grant from the Impact Fund, an organization supporting efforts to achieve economic and social justice. Rev. Clanton says, “It is David versus Goliath all over again, but we know how that turned out, don’t we?” For more information visit: www.southerncoalition.org/newhill www.newhillca.org www.indyweek.com/indyweek/dumping-on-new-hill/Content?oid=1593974 Contact: Chris Brook, attorney, Southern Coalition for Social Justice (919) 323-3380; chris@southerncoaltion.org Elaine Joyner, New Hill Community Association etjoyner@bellsouth.net Rev. James Clanton, First Baptist Church New Hill (919) 218-4066; clantonjames@bellsouth.net

April 29th, 2010: Rights groups challenge Zebulon Police Department’s practice of targeting Latino churchgoers

RALEIGH (April 29, 2010) – Community churches are supposed to be a safe haven for worshippers, not sites for police to target. But Latino churchgoers in eastern Wake County say police officers routinely set up illegal checkpoints outside their parish – and even interrupt services themselves. This morning, the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina Legal Foundation (ACLU-NCLF), the North Carolina Justice Center, and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice launched an investigation into the practice of targeting Latino churchgoers by the Zebulon Police Department and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office. Congregants at the Iglesia de Dios “Catedral de Jesus” in Zebulon report that Zebulon police officers, with alleged participation by Wake County sheriff’s deputies, have repeatedly posted license checkpoints outside the church during church services. Members of the congregation report that police officers routinely “wave through” Caucasian and African-American drivers, stopping only those drivers who appear to be Latino. “The reality is that these types of license checkpoints are often no more than covers for blatant racial and ethnic profiling of the Latino community,” said Katy Parker, Legal Director of the ACLU-NCLF. “This includes those members of the community who are undocumented as well as those members who are American citizens and lawful permanent residents of North Carolina.” The groups have filed a public records request asking police to provide all documents related to license checkpoints, as well as all documents related to compliance with the North Carolina Racial Profiling Act. Police officers, congregants say, have entered church property and interrupted services to harass members of the congregation seeking information. Officers routinely select the entrance of the church at 717 S. Arendell Avenue to set up license checkpoints during regularly scheduled church events, such as church services on Saturday nights from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., church members say. These scare tactics by police have caused a significant decrease in church attendance, as many congregants are afraid to attend church lest they be harassed by law enforcement in the process. “Even though Arizona’s outrageous new anti-immigrant law has made national headlines, we see similar disastrous policies and practices here in North Carolina,” said Dani Martinez-Moore of the NC Justice Center. “It’s shameful that checkpoints are routinely set up in Latino neighborhoods and in front of churches where services are conducted in Spanish.” The three groups sent a letter this morning to Zebulon Police Chief Tim Hayworth and Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison outlining the illegality and unconstitutionality of these practices under both state and federal law. “Using local police officers for immigration enforcement erodes public trust in law enforcement, systematizes racial profiling, creates incentives for illegal arrests and prevents police from doing their job, failing to keep some of our most vulnerable communities safe,” said Rebecca Fontaine of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. To read the three organizations’ North Carolina Public Records Request, visit http://www.ncjustice.org/?q=node/499. The public records request is part of “Uncovering the Truth,” a weeklong national campaign of coordinated actions and advocacy highlighting the effects of local law enforcement collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on community safety. CONTACT: Katy Parker, ACLU-NCLF, (919) 834-3466, acluncklp@nc.rr.com; Dani Martinez-Moore, NC Justice Center, (919) 856-2178, dani@ncjustice.org; Rebecca Fontaine, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, (919) 323-3380, rebecca@scsj.org

April 1, 2010: Triangle Community Welcomes Immigrant Students Walking the East Coast for Just Immigration Reform

Contact: Erin Krauss, UNC Graduate Student intern with Reform Immigration for America; (828) 273-0927 or Rebecca Fontaine, Southern Coalition for Social Justice, (781) 277-1314, Rebecca@SCSJ.org Durham, N.C. - Four immigrant students walking 1,500 miles from Miami, FL to Washington, D.C. will arrive in the Triangle this weekend as part of their "Trail of Dreams" to demand just immigration reform. Peers at UNC-Chapel Hill are hosting the group and immigration reform supporters will be walking with the students for parts of their journey.Several organizations are also hosting events and dinners to support the effort and the message. North Carolina, like other southern states, has seen a significant increase in deportations, workplace raids, and barriers to higher education for immigrant students. "We hope to share our own experiences as immigrant students with the larger community, and to explain the fear and pain that detentions and deportations cause within families," said Gaby Pacheco, one of the walkers. "We seek real solutions to fix our broken immigration system and to stop the deportation of students just like us who know the United States as their only home and want to make it prosperous for all." Pacheco and the other students: Felipe Matos, 23; Carlos Roa, 22; and Juan Rodriguez, 20, started their walk on January 1 to raise awareness about the need to reform the U.S. immigration system; they are expected to arrive in Washington, DC on May 1. The Triangle community will welcome the walkers by hosting a number of events to promote dialogue on the issue of immigration reform and access to education for all immigrant students. Saturday, April 3: Walk begins at 7:30am at the McDonald's at 105 E South St, Raleigh; lunch will be held at the Fruit of Labor World Cultural Center at 4200 Lake Ridge Dr. Monday, April 5: A 12:00 noon rally at the Wilson Library at UNC, then the walk kicks off at 1pm at the Franklin Street Post Office and ends at 5:30pm with a community dinner at CAARE, 214 Broadway St., in Durham. Ron Bilbao, chair of the North Carolina Coalition for College Access said, "The Dreamers are an inspiration. Their presence at UNC, the nation's first public university, shows their commitment to achieving educational access for all students. We welcome them with open arms." To follow and support the Trail of DREAMS' campaign, send a text message to: 3-0-6-4-4 with the word TRAIL. For more information and biographies on the Dream Walkers visit www.trail2010.org

March 23, 2010: Students and Alumni of the Wake County School System Led a Sit-in Today During a Meeting of the Wake County School Board, Demanding All Students Receive a Quality Education

Raleigh, N.C. (March 23, 2010) - This evening the Wake County School Board is scheduled to take a final vote on dismantling the system's nationally recognized diversity policy. In response, an organized group of Wake County students, alumni, and their supporters began chanting "Shut it Down, No Segregation in our Town." Demonstrators were forced from the building where they continue to rally outside. The policy is a measure that seeks to ensure socio-economic diversity in all schools as a statistically proven way to bring more equity to the education system by avoiding low-performing high-poverty schools. Demonstrators, who believe this vote will move the community toward re-segregated schools and a two-tier system of education, attempted to enter the meeting en masse and declared the new school board majority was violating both legal and moral laws by continuing to operate as it had been. Concerned parents, students, and community members have been packing the school board meetings for months, trying to stop these measures by the new majority, who were elected by less than 5% of the voters in the county. "Separate but equal didn't work then and it wont' work now. This is a right-wing agenda being pushed on the people of Wake County and its being bank-rolled by some of the richest conservatives in our state - Art Pope, and the chair of Civitas, Robert Luddy, who runs several private and charter schools," stated Andy Koch, a junior at UNC Chapel Hill and alum of Wake public schools. Demonstrators and the public were also outraged by new procedures that sought to further limit public input on the measure by limiting attendees to only those who could pick up tickets at 10:30am for the 3pm meeting. "How are students or working parents able to meaningfully participate and have their voices heard if the only people who attend are those who can afford to show up at 10:30 on a Tuesday morning? This is a clear maneuver to limit participation by working class people, who happen to be the people who will be most affected by this decision," said Alicia Sidney, a single mother of two. In addition, the school board was slated to vote on a new policy that threatened suspension for any student who picketed or protested the new policies. "This is a violation of our human rights - what kind of civics lesson are they trying to teach us by threatening to suspend students for using their voice as we attempt to exercise our First Amendment Rights?" stated an outraged Jacob Ehrlich, a Wake County high schools student. Demonstrators demand: that all following school board meetings be held at a time and place that allow for meaningful public participation, that the school board not move forward on any radical alteration of its policies until a full review of the data and fiscal implications, to drop the so-called "student disruption" policy that seeks to limit student's First Amendment Rights, and finally, a re-call election to allow the people of Wake County to determine if these members truly have the support of the community. Contact: Elena Everett, Southern Coalition for Social Justice (919) 413-1276; Elena@southerncoalition.org Ben Carroll, HKonJ Youth (919) 604-8167, itsaredletterday@gmail.com

March 19, 2010: Environmental Justice Summit to be Followed by a Press Conference at the Prospective Site of Cary and Apex's Sewage Treatment Plant

New Hill, N.C. - Elected officials, candidates for office, leaders of statewide organizations, as well as members of a community threatened with a negative environmental impact, will gather for an Environmental Justice Summit Saturday, March 20. Currently Site 14, which is located in the New Hill historic district, is the preferred location for the Western Wake Regional Wastewater Management Facility, causing great concern among New Hill residents and their supporters. The Summit is being put on by the New Hill Community Association in conjunction with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network to discuss the environmental impact of a planned sewage treatment plant. The Environmental Justice Summit will focus on the history and legacy of environmental racism in North Carolina, and on environmental consequences that Site 14 will place on the New Hill community. Media are invited to attend the summit and asked to be present for a 12:15 news briefing outside the church, in a location adjacent to the site of the prospective sewage treatment plant. New Hill is a rural, majority community of color in Western Wake County, located near the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant. Since 2005 residents have been opposing efforts by the Western Wake Partners (an organization comprised of the towns of Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville) to place a wastewater treatment plant in middle of their community. Speakers at the summit will include Gary Grant, Director of the NC Environmental Justice Network, attorney Chris Brook of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Dr. Steve Wing, an adjunct professor at UNC Chapel Hill, Reverend Campbell of the Rogers-Eubanks Community Association, Reverend James Clanton of the First Baptist Church New Hill, and Paul Barth, President of the New Hill Community Association. When: March 20, 2010 Time: 8:30 AM -12:30 PM Where: First Baptist Church New Hill 3016 New Hill Holleman Road New Hill, NC 27562 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Environmental injustice - when members of low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately burdened with environmental hazards or risks for the benefit of affluent, predominately white communities and corporations. www.southerncoalition.org www.newhillca.org Contact: Elena Everett, Southern Coalition for Social Justice (919) 323-3380x112; Elena@southerncoalition.org Paul Barth, President, New Hill Community Association (919) 362-7905; NCDeerHunter29@aol.com Rev. James Clanton, New Hill First Baptist Church (919) 218-4066; clantonjames@bellsouth.net

March 15, 2010: Defendant in Lawsuit Regarding an Assault by a Greensboro Security Guard Agrees to Pay Latin King Member $13,500

Greensboro, N.C. - On March 8, 2010, Byron Meadows and Lankford Protective Services, a security agency that contracts with the City of Greensboro, agreed to pay $13,500 to Russel Kilfoil, a member of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN), who was assaulted and detained while waiting for a bus the night of July 2, 2008. Kilfoil was punched in the face by Meadows, a Lankford Protective Services employee. Meadows claimed Kilfoil was smoking in the wrong place at the Depot and displayed an "attitudinal posture." He further claimed he had not punched Kilfoil, but attempted to execute an arm bar, and that this action was justified under the circumstances. Meadows's claims were refuted by the security footage of the event. In December 2008 the Greensboro Human Relations Department concluded that there was reasonable cause to believe that discrimination played a role in the incident. Kilfoil is a young man of Puerto Rican descent. Kilfoil was represented by Southern Coalition for Social Justice staff attorney, Chris Brook free of charge. In December 2008, the Greensboro Collaborative retained the legal services of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, a non-profit community lawyering organization based in Durham, NC. The Greensboro Collaborative is comprised of the Beloved Community Center, the Pulpit Forum, and Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation of Greensboro (ALKQN). One of the Collaborative's primary concerns was continued harassment of the Latin Kings by the Greensboro Police Department's Anti-Gang Task Force. In June 2008, the leader of the Kings, Jorge Cornell, called for peace and an end to violence on the streets of Greensboro. Since that time violence directed at the Kings and harassment by the Anti-Gang Task Force and other law enforcement entities has escalated. Members of the Task Force follow King members home and around town, and have repeatedly harassed members at their places of work - actions that have led to ALKQN members losing their jobs. In March 2009 the Pulpit Forum Clergy and the Beloved Community Center submitted a document to the city entitled "A Paradigm Shift," which Rev. Nelson Johnson describes as follows: "Specifically, it proposed that street groups of young people, some of whom self-identify as gangs, could be seen and worked with as a resource for community safety, community justice, and greater community unity." SCSJ will continue to provide representation to the Greensboro Collaborative and individuals affiliated with the Latin Kings in matters involving police misconduct, discrimination, and violations of human rights Staff attorney Chris Brook stated, "...this is not only an excellent result for Russ, but also sends a clear message to Lankford Protective Services that such treatment of individuals is unacceptable." "SCSJ played a huge role in helping me set right what happened to me as I waited for the bus that evening," said Russell Kilfoil. Contact: Chris Brook, staff attorney; Chris@SCSJ.org; 919.323.3380 ext.111 or 919.928.2444

March 8, 2010: Rural Wake Co. Community Invites Citizens and Elected Officials to a March 20 Environmental Justice Summit to Discuss the Impacts of a Prospective Sewage Treatment Plant & Incinerator

New Hill, N.C. - On Saturday, March 20, the New Hill Community Association, in conjunction with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, will host a summit on environmental justice and environmental racism at the First Baptist Church New Hill from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Media are invited to attend the summit and asked to be present for a 12:15 news briefing outside the church, which is adjacent to the site of the prospective sewage treatment plant. Currently Site 14, which is located in the New Hill historic district, is the preferred location for the Western Wake Regional Wastewater Management Facility, causing great concern among New Hill residents and their supporters. The Environmental Justice Summit will focus on the history and legacy of environmental racism in North Carolina, and on environmental consequences that Site 14 will place on the New Hill community. New Hill is a rural, majority-minority community in Western Wake County, located near the Shearon Harris nuclear power plant. Since 2005 residents have been opposing efforts by the Western Wake Partners (an organization comprised of the towns of Apex, Cary, Holly Springs and Morrisville) to place a wastewater treatment plant in middle of their community. Speakers at the summit will include Gary Grant, Director of the NC Environmental Justice Network, attorney Chris Brook of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Dr. Steve Wing, a UNC Chapel Hill researcher and epidemiologist, Reverend James Clanton of the First Baptist Church New Hill, and Paul Barth, President of the New Hill Community Association. When: March 20, 2010 Time: 8:30 AM -12:00 PM Where: First Baptist Church New Hill 3016 New Hill Holleman Road New Hill, NC 27562 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Environmental injustice - when members of disadvantaged, ethnic, minority, poor or other marginalized groups are disproportionately burdened with environmental hazards or risks for the benefit of affluent, predominately white communities and corporations. www.southerncoalition.org www.newhillca.org Contact: Elena Everett, Southern Coalition for Social Justice (919) 323-3380x112; Elena@southerncoalition.org Paul Barth, President, New Hill Community Association (919) 362-7905; NCDeerHunter29@aol.com Rev. James Clanton, New Hill First Baptist Church (919) 218-4066; clantonjames@bellsouth.net

February 4, 2010: New Bond Fund Helps NC Immigrants Get Fair Day in Court; SCSJ works with the fund to help low-income immigrant families

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, February 24, 2010 Contact: Rebecca Fontaine or Marty Rosenbluth, Immigration Unit, SCSJ (919) 323-3380x116 or (919) 949-9050 Rebecca@scsj.org or Marty@scsj.org Pat Malone, Director, National Immigration Bond Fund (212) 781-2140; pmalone@publicinterestprojects.org New Bond Fund Helps NC Immigrants Get Fair Day in Court; SCSJ works with the fund to help low-income immigrant families Durham, NC – A new Bond Fund is helping immigrants who are arrested post bond and access legal services. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice partnered with the National Immigrant Bond Fund to provide zero interest matching loans to immigrants who cannot afford to pay a full bond. The fund was created from a pool of private donors committed to protecting dignity and due process for immigrants. Since its inception in September, SCSJ has used the fund to help seven families. Undocumented immigrants do not have the same right to due process and a fair trial afforded U.S. citizens. If immigrants cannot post bond immediately after entering Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, it can dramatically affect their ability to get justice. Detainees are then accelerated into deportation proceedings, which are difficult to contest because they do not have the right to an attorney if they cannot afford one, face language barriers, and lack access to documents they need to build their case since they are in custody. Unlike bonds in the criminal courts, most families must pay immigration bonds in cash, rather than being able to pay 10% to a bond agency. Failure to post bond immediately can also result in a rapid transfer of detainees to courts outside of the state in which they were arrested. This was the case with Samuel, who was arrested in Greensboro and rapidly transferred to the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia. "Everyone there was like me: we had no money and no resources. They treated us worse than criminals. They treated us like animals," he says, pointing to the freezing temperatures and the lack of adequate food and water, clean clothes or soap for bathing. In some cases, detainees have sufficient grounds to petition to be able to stay in the U.S., but are unable to explore those options and build their case while in detention. Even when these options are not available, being able to post bond and spend a few additional months with their family or being able to sell their property and prepare to return to their home country makes a huge difference. When Edwin Aly Ramirez was arrested while translating for a friend in Greensboro, his first thought was of his wife and two children — with another on the way. "I thought I would never get to meet my newborn," he said. Edwin came here at thirteen from war-torn El Salvador, "…this is my country. I don’t want to leave." "When immigrants are detained without being able to pay their bond, they are denied the right to fully defend their right to stay in this country, which often unjustly results in their being deported without being able to see their families or tie up outstanding obligations," says SCSJ staff attorney Marty Rosenbluth. "The Bond Fund is an important step in combating the injustice and inequities in the immigration system." The Southern Coalition for Social Justice empowers minority and low-income populations to defend and advance their political, social and economic rights. 115 Market St., Suite 470; Durham, NC 27701; www.scsj.org