• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Tyler Whittenberg

Chief Counsel, Justice System Reform
tyler@scsj.org

Tyler Whittenberg joined Southern Coalition for Social Justice in 2020 to lead the Justice System Reform program. Prior to joining South Coalition for Social Justice, Tyler was Deputy Director of Advancement Project’s Ending the Schoolhouse-to-Jailhouse Track project. In this role, he supported grassroots campaigns led by youth of color fighting to end the criminalization of Black and Brown students and create learning environments that are reflective of the world they envision for themselves.

Tyler’s entire career has been dedicated to ending the school-to-prison pipeline and dismantling oppressive structures systematically imposed upon Black and Brown youth. He began his career as an 8th grade social studies teacher in Columbia, South Carolina. He then received a masters degree in Politics and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, focusing on school-to-prison pipeline issues and the growing effort to privatize public education. Tyler subsequently advocated for students’ rights as an Education Policy Fellow with the North Carolina Justice Center’s Education Law Project.

Tyler graduated from Tulane University Law School after completing an Ella Baker Fellowship with the Center for Constitutional Rights. Throughout law school, he co-directed Stand Up for Each Other (SUFEO)—a student-led organization representing youth who were suspended and expelled from public schools in New Orleans. For these efforts, Tyler was awarded the Louisiana State Bar Association’s 2014 Student Pro Bono Award. Tyler also advocated for the rights of youth in the justice and foster care systems as a Staff Attorney with the Youth Law Center and helped jurisdictions throughout the U.S. reduce racial and ethnic disparities in youth-serving systems while a Site Manager with the W. Haywood Burns Institute.

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Southern Coalition for Social Justice

Partnering 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.

  • Home
  • About
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Employment Opportunities
  • News
  • Programs
    • Voting Rights
      • News
      • Featured Cases
      • Resources
    • Justice System Reform
      • News
      • Featured Cases
      • Resources
    • Youth Justice Project
      • News
      • Resources
  • Resources
    • Make a Voting Plan: North Carolina
    • Make a Voting Plan: National
    • #MyVoteMyVoice
    • Early Voting Advocacy 2020
    • Videos
    • Reports
    • Infographics
    • SCSJ-led Projects
  • SCSJ Monthly Digest
  • Contact
  • Donate

Search Southern Coalition for Social Justice

#LiberateToEducate Infographics Reveal Racial Disparities in Durham Public Schools

Focus Area: Youth Justice ProjectResource Type: Infographic

The Youth Justice Project (YJP) is a youth-led group of Durham Public School (DPS) students of color who are committed to ending the school-to-prison pipeline and achieving educational justice. We envision a future in which young people of color attend schools that lift them up, not pat them down; live in communities that follow their lead, not suppress their voice; and are served by governments that invest in their future, not their incarceration. We believe in a world where no child is criminalized and all Black, Latinx, and LGBTQIA+ youth receive the education and support necessary to thrive in their full dignity.

The school-to-prison pipeline is bigger than suspensions and arrests. It also includes biased polices, systemic underinvestment, and outdated, Eurocentric curriculum – all of which push students out of the classroom and into the justice system. A comprehensive, youth-led effort is necessary to dismantle decades-old practices that wear away at the dignity and wellbeing of students of color. We urge the Durham Public Schools Board of Education to work with Youth Justice Project members and students of color throughout DPS to implement this policy platform. 

These infographics include recommendations that were developed by Youth Justice Project members and represent a comprehensive view of educational justice that, if fully implemented, will effectively end the school-to-prison pipeline in DPS. In the sage and powerful words of Assata Shakur, “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”

Download

Key Contact

Tyler Whittenberg, Chief Counsel, Justice System Reform
tyler@scsj.org

Last Updated: January 13, 2021

Footer

Contact

1415 West Highway 54, Suite 101
Durham, NC 27707
info@southerncoalition.org
office: 919-323-3380
fax: 919-323-3942
Map

Key Links

About
Donate
Most Recent 990
Staff
Board

The Latest

"We wanted to encompass the other four demands of the Wake County Black Student Coalition, because it's not just about policing, but it really is about what the schools need to do to make students of color feel safe and supported."@t_whittenberg @Scalawag bit.ly/2Yk5M47

About 8 hours ago

#ReleaseOurMoneyNC: - Support effective, comprehensive homeless services - Support the adoption of an effective property tax assistance program to help protect low-income homeowners and rural landowners - Use the reserves to create more affordable housing #HousingJusticeNow pic.twitter.com/EtwH…

About 10 hours ago

Many of those who’ve been working to feed, teach, and support our communities through this pandemic continue to risk their lives for a minimum wage that hasn’t gone up in 11 years. We need #NCGA to #ProtectAllWorkers and #RaiseTheWage. #ReleaseOurMoneyNC #FightFor15 pic.twitter.com/wfoX…

About 11 hours ago

The #COVID19 crisis has taught us that North Carolina needs to protect its people. That begins with expanding Medicaid. Now. #ReleaseOurMoneyNC #ExpandMedicaid pic.twitter.com/ZmPq…

About 11 hours ago

North Carolina cannot recover from this pandemic without a major investment in protecting our people. #NCGA must #ReleaseOurMoneyNC and deliver on healthcare, housing, and worker protections. pic.twitter.com/9Fy5…

About 12 hours ago

Follow @scsj
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Copyright © 2021 Southern Coalition for Social Justice · All Rights Reserved · Website by Tomatillo Design