Senior Attorney Daryl Atkinson joined host Marc Lamont Hill and University of Wisconsin Sociologist Alice Goffman in a HuffPost Live discussion of Goffman’s book, “On the Run.” Much of “On the Run” focuses on the book’s main subjects, black men in their 20s living in a Philadelphia neighborhood who find ways to evade, dodge and […]
Words matter: the importance of humanizing criminal justice vocabulary
Inmate. Prisoner. Other. Discussed. What to call incarcerated people: Your feedback By BLAIR HICKMAN We received more than 200 responses to our callout asking the best way to refer to people behind bars. Of the options we offered, 38 percent preferred “incarcerated person,” 23 percent liked “prisoner” and nearly 10 percent supported use of the […]
"Ban the Box" campaign gains momentum in Washington
This story was written by Josh Gerstein and appeared on politico.com on March 25, 2015 Obama urged to ease hiring of ex-prisoners A group of criminal justice reformers, including some who served prison time, are headed to the White House Wednesday to press President Barack Obama to do more to help those who’ve been convicted […]
Selma march feels like 'hope and justice magnified'
Susan Burton of A New Way of Life in Los Angeles and Daryl Atkinson of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice finally got their turn to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge — twice. Burton’s dispatch: There are just thousands and thousands and thousands of people, as far as the eye can see, people lined up […]
Eliminating the Second-Class Status of People With Criminal Records
Daryl Atkinson ’07 is a man on a mission to ensure that equal justice under the law is realized for those with a criminal past. His mission is simple: restore the civil rights and human rights of people with criminal records. This may appear to be a mighty feat as America has the highest rate […]
TalkPoverty LIVE focuses on Durham's "Ban the Box" success
SCSJ Staff Attorney Daryl Atkinson discussed critical policy issues relating to poverty in America with fellow expert panelists on Thursday’s TalkPoverty LIVE! webcast. Joining him were: Jared Bernstein: Senior Fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and former Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Biden Jodie Levin-Epstein: Deputy Director of the Center for Law […]
Position Filled: Employment Opportunity Legal Corps Staff Attorney
Positions Have Been Filled as of September 22, 2014 Employment Opportunity Legal Corps Staff Attorney (2 positions available) The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) has an immediate opening for two licensed attorneys to work in our Clean Slate Program. These positions are available through generous funding from Equal Justice Works and AmeriCorps for their Employment […]
Give Local America lets you help SCSJ TWICE as much!
You support social justice issues like voting rights, criminal justice reform, environmental justice, and human rights – and you’re not alone! We do too. Right now there’s something you can do about it. From now until May 16, your social justice dollars go twice as far! We know you care about social justice. When you […]
Clean Slate Success in Durham
What is Clean Slate work and why is it important? Involvement in the criminal justice system has negative side effects beyond a court case and possible conviction. Arrests and convictions trigger an additional set of punishments known as collateral consequences. These consequences operate outside of the criminal justice context even after an individual has served […]
Raise The Age: the importance of keeping children out of adult jail
On the heels of End Mass Incarceration (EMI) Week comes reenergized attention to the Raise the Age Movement in North Carolina. As explained in my recent blog post entitled, “Mass Incarceration of Juveniles: Does Putting Children in Jail Solve Anything?” North Carolina automatically charges all 16 and 17 year-olds as adults, irrespective of the crime. […]
Gender-Neutrality is a Myth: The Impact of Collateral Consequences on Women
Since Nixon’s formal declaration of ‘drugs‘ as Public Enemy #1 in 1971, women have been the fastest growing U.S prison population. The number of women behind bars has skyrocketed more than 600% since Nixon’s formal declaration. While Nixon introduced harsh sentencing laws, he is the only president in U.S history to have dedicated more funding […]
What's your passion?
In the coming weeks, SCSJ will introduce you to our Spring semester interns. Their internships are sponsored by a generous gift from the Troan Family Foundation. With diverse backgrounds and academic interests, we know that you’ll enjoy getting to know them. This first post is by Oprah Keyes, a Macro Social Work (MSW) student at […]
Michelle Alexander: Why Police Lie Under Oath
Why Police Lie Under Oath (via http://amicuscuria.com) By Michelle Alexander THOUSANDS of people plead guilty to crimes every year in the United States because they know that the odds of a jury’s believing their word over a police officer’s are slim to none. As a juror, whom are you likely to believe…
Honoring Nelson Mandela
Honoring Nelson Mandela by Peter Wagner, December 5, 2013 (This is a repost from the Prison Policy Initiative) Nelson Mandela (1918-2013) was a South African freedom fighter and one of the longest held political prisoners in the world. He led the fight to abolish Apartheid and was elected President in the first multi-racial election in […]