Transparency & Accountability

JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORM

Holding Officials Accountable

Those in power must be held accountable. If state or local officials misuse their power against marginalized people or communities, we stand with those directly impacted and help them fight back.

Edenton confederate monument with the sign "remove this statue"

When those in power are not held accountable, the harms ripple outward.

Marginalized people and communities are the first and hardest hit, but the damage corrodes trust in government for everyone. Abuses of authority multiply when left unchecked, allowing injustice to become routine. Without transparency, institutions designed to serve the public instead end up silencing, disempowering, and endangering the very people they are meant to protect.

Featured Cases

JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORM

Lawsuit Against Central Piedmont Community College

N.C. residents sued Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) and its Board of Trustees due to CPCC’s efforts to hide information about its development of a controversial public safety training facility.

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Edenton Confederate Monument with large x covering it to demonstrate that its racist origins are unjust.

JUSTICE SYSTEM REFORM

Rev. Shannon v. Town of Edenton

SCSJ filed a lawsuit alleging the Edenton Town Council and Chowan County Board of Commissioners brokered an unlawful secret deal to relocate the Edenton Confederate Monument.

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Transparency & Accountability Resources

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Racial Equity Report Cards (RERCs) with a silhouette of the state of North Carolina, produced by the Youth Justice Project

Racial Equity Report Cards

The RERCs use public data to provide a snapshot of a community’s school-to-prison pipeline, including any racial disproportionalities that exist in the pipeline.

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Open Data Policing User Interface

Open Data Policing

This platform aggregates, visualizes, and publishes public records related to all known traffic stops to have occurred in North Carolina since 2002, in Illinois since 2005, and in Maryland since 2013.

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SRO Resource Tool User Interface

Police in Schools: How to File a Complaint

This first-of-its-kind tool aims to help students, parents, and school employees navigate local policies regarding filing school grievances in connection with SROs.

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Transparency & Accountability News

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Justice System Reform

Charges Dropped Against NCCU Students from Housing Protest 

DURHAM, N.C. (Sept. 23, 2025) — Criminal charges against three people who were arrested during an April campus protest over North Carolina Central University’s (NCCU) poor housing conditions were dismissed Monday in Durham County District Court.   The State voluntarily dismissed the charges against two students and one professor after a district court judge denied their…

Read More Charges Dropped Against NCCU Students from Housing Protest 
NCCU students and faculty celebrate with SCSJ attorneys
Justice System Reform

Settlement Reached in Abrams Lawsuit, Securing Important Parole Reforms for People Sentenced as Children 

RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 16, 2025) — Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) has reached a settlement with the North Carolina Parole Commission that will implement key changes to how it conducts parole reviews for people who were sentenced to North Carolina prison as children.   The settlement resolves Abrams v. Jackson, a federal lawsuit brought on…

Read More Settlement Reached in Abrams Lawsuit, Securing Important Parole Reforms for People Sentenced as Children 
NC central prison and gavel

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