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Duke Energy Provides $25,000 Grant For SCSJ’s 2022 Justice System Reform Work

DURHAM, N.C. (December 21, 2021) — Duke Energy has awarded Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) with a $25,000 grant to expand the educational and advocacy work of the North Carolina-based organization’s Justice System Reform (JSR) team. Through community lawyering, communications, and organizing, the JSR Team promotes social and economic justice by ensuring police accountability,…

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Getting an Accurate Count, One Person at a Time

The Florida Immigrant Coalition 2010 Census could help provide the means necessary to helping this community thrive. The organization has recruited more than 60 emerging community leaders to spread the word about the census in a way that is meaningful to the communities it serves. For more information about FLIC's census work, check out this

The Story of Samuel

Samuel will soon be deported after living in the US for thirteen years. He will leave behind his wife, three children, and two grandchildren, and with unanswered questions about the death of his son, shot by police in Durham in 2007. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice and the National Immigrant Bond Fund are fighting for dignity and due process in North Carolina.

Trail of Dreams in Cary

On January 1, 2010, Juan, Carlos, Felipe and Gaby embarked on a 1,500 mile walk from Miami to Washington, D.C. These students are facing much more than sore feet; three of them are undocumented, and they risk deportation and detention in order to share their story and raise awareness about the need for just immigration reform. Trail of Dreams is a journey of hope for the 12 million undocumented migrants in the United States who live in constant fear, and especially for the students who dream of higher education but are barred from attending college or accessing financial aid because of their citizenship status. In this video, the dreamers spoke with the head of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement at a secret detention facility they found in Cary and gave him a poster with a picture of the Statue of Liberty and the words "No Human Being is Illegal."

Census Poetry Slam!

Black Poetry Theatre & Best Kept Spoken present Words of Wisdom (W.O.W.) Live, Census Poetry Slam! WHAT: Census Poetry Slam! Words, rhymes and rhythms on the 2010 Census. WHERE: Night Life Comedy Club and Lounge: 5504 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd., Durham, NC 27707 WHEN: Monday, April 12, 2010 at 8:30 p.m. ADMISSION: $1.00 A prize of $100 will be donated by SCSJ for the best poet of the night, so come out for a night of entertainment and see why others are being counted in the 2010 Census.

Wake County's Diversity Policy

SCSJ believes that the Wake County school board's controversial decision to dismantle the county's nationally acclaimed diversity policy will fundamentally undermine educational opportunity for students of color, particularly low-income African Americans and Latinos. The system did not solve all problems: tracking and other factors still create defacto within-school segregation; as early as kindergarten, students are separated into tracks, such as Gifted and Talented, Honors, Special Needs and Remedial, which become virtually unchangeable for the rest of their academic careers, thus impacting the competitiveness of their college and scholarship applications. Wake County has a high number of suspensions and an achievement gap that correlates with race and socioeconomic status. However, dismantling the diversity policy will only further exacerbate these inequities and will have a disproportionate and negative impact on students that are already at risk. Because neighborhoods tend to be segregated, so do neighborhood schools. The inconvenience of bussing is more than a fair price to pay for the benefits of integration, enriched curricula, and real opportunities for all children.

Trail of Dreams: walking for change

On January 1, 2010, Juan, Carlos, Felipe and Gaby embarked on a 1,500 mile walk from Miami to Washington, D.C. These students are facing much more than sore feet; three of them are undocumented, and they risk deportation and detention in order to share their story and raise awareness about the need for just immigration reform. Trail of Dreams is a journey of hope for the 12 million undocumented migrants in the United States who live in constant fear, and especially for the students who dream of higher education but are barred from attending college or accessing financial aid because of their citizenship status. Felipe is among the top 20 community college students in America. He wants to be a teacher and has been accepted to top universities but cannot enroll because he is ineligible for financial aid. Gaby has three education degrees and plans to use music therapy as a teaching tool for autistic children and adults. Brought to the U.S. at age 2, Carlos wanted to join the military but could not because of his immigration status. He is now studying architecture at Miami Dade College. Juan became a U.S. resident last year with the help of his stepmother and wants to earn a sociology degree from the University of Chicago. These four stellar students exemplify why we must pass the DREAM Act. 65,000 students graduate high school every year, but are denied college access because of our broken and unjust immigration system. These students include Valedictorians, class presidents, and community leaders. Yet they are refused the opportunity to further their education and give back to America — the country they see as their home. Juan, Carlos, Felipe and Gaby are walking from Chapel Hill to Durham today. We applaud their courage and conviction. They are more than a symbol of hope — they are leaders in a movement for change. Join them. For more information, check out our Statement of Support, our Press Release, and this column in the Daily Tar Heel.

Statement of Support for the Trail of Dreams

The North Carolina organizations supporting the Trail of Dreams are inspired by the Dream Walkers' courageous commitment to their vision and to their journey from Miami to Washington, DC, to demand justice for all immigrants. We welcome the walkers into North Carolina as activists challenging multiple oppressions and look to connect their stories and struggles with organizing work of all oppressed communities in the South. We support their demands for fair and humane immigration reform, access to college education, workers' rights, and an end to unjust immigration enforcement policies. As organizations engaged in immigrants' rights work, we support the leadership and self-determination of those most directly affected by unjust policies. We also honor their place in a long history of social justice movements in our state in which young people have played a leading role. As each walker shares his or her story, it touches everyone - even to those who do not agree with their demands. We believe that storytelling humanizes policies and is a powerful tool for transformation. The courage of the walkers as they challenge injustice, in spite of the risks they face as undocumented youth, has brought energy and inspiration to our work in North Carolina. We honor them by continuing our work building and strengthening local and statewide movements for immigrant justice, human and civil rights, and progressive social change. Adelante Education Coalition of North Carolina North Carolina Justice Center Reform Immigration For America Southern Coalition for Social Justice Student Actions with Farmworkers To learn more, check out our Blog, Press Release, or some of this great press coverage by The News & Observer, The Herald Sun, and 1360 WHCL.

A message from North Carolina

The North Carolina organizations supporting the Trail of Dreams are inspired by the Dream Walkers' courageous commitment to their vision and to their journey from Miami to Washington, DC, to demand justice for all immigrants. We welcome the walkers into North Carolina as activists challenging multiple oppressions and look to connect their stories and struggles with organizing work of all oppressed communities in the South. We support their demands for fair and humane immigration reform, access to college education, workers' rights, and an end to unjust immigration enforcement policies. As organizations engaged in immigrants' rights work, we support the leadership and self-determination of those most directly affected by unjust policies. We also honor their place in a long history of social justice movements in our state in which young people have played a leading role. As each walker shares his or her story, it touches everyone - even to those who do not agree with their demands. We believe that storytelling humanizes policies and is a powerful tool for transformation. The courage of the walkers as they challenge injustice, in spite of the risks they face as undocumented youth, has brought energy and inspiration to our work in North Carolina. We honor them by continuing our work building and strengthening local and statewide movements for immigrant justice, human and civil rights, and progressive social change. Adelante Education Coalition of North Carolina North Carolina Justice Center Reform Immigration FOR America Southern Coalition for Social Justice Student Action with Farmworkers

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

Sant La is helping Florida's Haitian community get counted

Sant La, the Haitian Neighborhood Center in Miami, FL, was established in December 2000 to help stabilize and empower Florida's Haitian community by providing it with the resources necessary to help it thrive. Ten years later, Sant La is working for an accurate census count for the same reasons. Obstacles to being counted in the Haitian community include reaching low-income areas often isolated by language barriers and a mistrust of government agencies due to fears associated with immigration status. In addition, a lack of familiarity with American institutions and low literacy rates further discourage members of the community from participating in the census. To combat these problems, Sant La is using its trusted position within the Florida Haitian community and a variety of media outlets to spread awareness of the 2010 Census and integrate it into their existing programs. Through weekly television programs, radio ads and print media publications, Sant La will use this major media campaign to reach everyone in the Haitian community. In the process, the organization hopes to educate its constituents about the benefits of an accurate count and build a trust that will help to empower the Haitian community.