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.

Spring Intern Spotlight: Adé Oni

  It’s hard to ignore injustice when it runs around exposed, loud (at times), and reckless always. I came to consider myself a part of the struggle for real social justice when I became aware of how connected you and I are; when injustice happening ‘somewhere else’ felt like it was unfolding right beside me–inside […]

The dignity of work: helping people with criminal convictions find jobs

February 05, 2014 Columns » Citizen >>Write to the editor “Have You Ever Been Convicted of a Crime?” prevents nonviolent offenders from re-entering society by Bob Geary @rjgeary In his job as a staff attorney with the Durham-based Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Daryl Atkinson fields calls from men and women who can’t get a […]

Crime does pay, but for whom?

Source: Online-Paralegal-Degree.org There are 2.3 million people living behind bars in the United States ● The US prison system costs the federal government $55 billion every year Prison VS. Jail ● Jails are locally-operated facilities that hold inmates for a short period of time ● Prisons are long-term facilities run by the state or federal […]

Forty one years is long enough: Incarceration of Political Prisoners

By Crystal M. Hayes Repost from KultureKritic.com My father, Robert Seth Hayes, is one of the longest held political prisoners in the United States. He has been an inmate of the New York State Correctional system since 1973. He was a member of the Black Panther Party and Black Liberation Army. Forty one years is […]

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…

Facts and figures on incarceration in America

Facts and Figures on Incarceration in America (via Moyers & Company) Over the last four decades, America’s prison population has increased dramatically. This tremendous growth disproportionately affects minorities, and has been exacerbated by the war on drugs. Mass incarceration has become a form of legalized discrimination…

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 […]

What we learned at the International Drug Policy Reform Conference

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice was well represented this week at the International Drug Policy Conference, held this year in Colorado, a state on the vanguard of drug policy reform.  SCSJ Staff Attorney Daryl Atkinson, Fellow Jeremy Collins, and Soros Justice Attorney-Fellow Ian A. Mance all made the trip to Denver to learn from […]