Featured Entries

The Fight for the Voting Rights Act

As we prepare for the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Shelby County case, and the possibility that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act…

SCSJ Opposes Anti-Immigrant HB 786

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice is gravely concerned about North Carolina House Bill 786. This proposal would offer a limited driving permit to unauthorized…

Collateral Damage of the War on Drugs

Over a decade ago Benjamin was convicted of misdemeanor possession of marijuana.  Watch how his life was changed forever:

Collateral Consequences: Benjamin’s Story
Produced by…

Removing Barriers to Employment

Jasmyn Prioleau was a 20-something when she had a run-in with the law, and said she didn’t think about the lifelong consequences – although the…

Stand Up to Hate: Vote Against Amendment One Today

Today the Southern Coalition for Social Justice is standing with the LGBTQ community and fair minded North Carolinians in asking all North Carolina voters to stand up to hate by voting AGAINST Amendment One. Amendment One, which seeks to define marriage as a union between one woman and one man would: • take domestic partnership benefits from all unmarried people • take health benefits from kids of all unmarried people, and • restrict the rights of domestic violence survivors who are being hurt by people they are not married to This amendment would have broad impacts on many North Carolinians, but it explicitly seeks to attack LGBTQ community members. In North Carolina, same sex marriage is not legal, thus at its core this amendment seeks to further alienate LGBTQ people from our communities. As a social justice organization, we stand for the equal rights and humanity of all persons. Please, go to the polls today to vote NO on Amendment One and make sure your friends and family know why you are against this amendment. We thank everyone who has been involved in this important human rights struggle. For more information about Amendment One see: http://www.protectallncfamilies.org/home http://southernersonnewground.org/ http://www.naacpnc.org/

DOJ Objects to Change in Size and Method of Election of Pitt County School Board

On Monday, the United States Department of Justice objected to a proposed reduction in the size and method of election of the Pitt County Board of Education. The changes were the result of a local bill passed by the General Assembly last year. On behalf of the North Carolina State Conference of NAACP Branches, SCSJ filed a comment letter with DOJ, explaining how the proposed change would be retrogressive for black voters in the county. DOJ agreed that the change would make black voters worse off, and issued an objection letter on April 30. Attached are the comment letter filed by SCSJ and the DOJ Objection Letter.

Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association and NC NAACP Score an Environmental Justice Victory in the NC Court of Appeals

Yesterday, a 3-judge panel on the North Carolina Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a trial court decision in Waste Industries v. NC upholding the constitutionality of a state law that limits the size and location of new large landfills built in the state. The Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association and the NC NAACP had intervened in the litigation to defend the law, passed in 2007, because large landfills are often sited in low-income, minority communities. The NAACP had pushed the General Assembly to consider environmental justice when dealing with new landfills. The decision from the Court of Appeals expressly recognized the environmental justice protections provided by the challenged statutes. Attached is the May 1 opinion from the Court of Appeals.