DURHAM, N.C. (Nov. 18, 2024) — On Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024, at 3:30 p.m., Durham advocates and social justice organizations will host a rally on the steps of the Durham County Courthouse to stop the abusive and racist tactics of Durham County Child Protective Services.
Durham County’s rate of reunifying families is 22% – well below the national rate. Durham families wait an average of 622 days before reunification. Black, low-income families are disproportionately impacted by this family policing system.
The rally is in support of a Civil Rights Corps’ (CRC) lawsuit filed Nov. 13, 2024, against Durham County District Court Judge Doretta Walker for her repeated and ongoing refusal to permit community members and the public to observe judicial proceedings relating to one of the most profound exercises of state power — the forcible separation of children from their parents. The complaint alleges Judge Walker violated CRC’s First Amendment rights. CRC also sued Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead for enforcing the unconstitutional orders.
For more information on the lawsuit, read the complaint and previous coverage.
Who:
- Janki Kaneria, Counsel for Justice System Reform at Southern Coalition for Social Justice
- Amanda Wallace, Founder of Operation Stop CPS
- Elizabeth Rossi, Director of Strategic Initiative for Civil Rights Corps
- Sharrocka Pettiford, a Durham mother fighting for her children
- Rafik Zaidi, a local activist who survived the foster care system
What: Rally/Press Conference Against Family Policing
Where: Durham County Department of Social Services
414 E Main St, Durham, NC 27701
Meet at Courthouse Steps
When: Nov. 20, 2024, at 3:30 P.M. ET.
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Southern Coalition for Social Justice, founded in 2007, partners with communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South to defend and advance their political, social, and economic rights through the combination of legal advocacy, research, organizing, and communications. Learn more at southerncoalition.org and follow our work on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Operation Stop CPS was founded by former Child Abuse & Neglect Investigators that saw the corruption of this system first-hand and made a decision to be a part of the solution. Operation Stop CPS focuses its efforts on educating society on the reality that States are sanctioning the kidnapping of children under the guise of protecting them. We also work with families to empower them with the knowledge they need to demand the reunification of their children. Finally, we help communities build power to resist CPS interventions and take back control over the raising of their children.
Civil Rights Corps is a non-profit organization dedicated to challenging systemic injustice in the American legal system through innovative civil rights litigation. CRC works with individuals accused and convicted of crimes, their families and communities, people currently or formerly incarcerated, organizers, judges, and government officials to challenge mass human caging and to create a legal system that promotes equality and human freedom.