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.

SCSJ Responds to Court of Appeals Decision Defending Voters Against Intimidation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 5, 2021 MEDIA CONTACT:Gino Nuzzolillo, Communications Advocate, SCSJ, 402-415-4763, gino@scsj.org SCSJ: “We vow to keep fighting against election fraud conspiracies so that no person experiences this kind of voter intimidation again.” Durham, N.C. (October 5, 2021) — In a 3-0 decision, the North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled today that accusing […]

Voting Rights Groups Applaud Judge’s Recommendation to Dismiss Lawsuit to Purge North Carolina Voters

SCSJ: “The court’s ruling sends a strong message that efforts to purge voters will not be tolerated in the Tar Heel state.” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 30, 2021 MEDIA CONTACTS: Sailor Jones, 919-260-5905, sailor@scsj.orgGino Nuzzolillo, 402-415-4763, gino@scsj.org Durham, N.C. (September 30, 2021) — In an editorial published this week, voting rights advocates from the League of […]

Marian Lewin and Melvin Montford: N.C. counties should defy the ‘Big Lie,’ protect voters

Read SCSJ clients Melvin Montford, head of the North Carolina A. Philip Randolph Institute, and Marian Lewin, spokesperson for the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, op-ed condemning Judicial Watch’s efforts to propagate the “Big Lie” and attack voters in the Greensboro News & Record. Read their op-ed <<HERE>>. Even with North Carolina’s record […]

Texas Groups Join Regional Effort to Prepare Voters for Redistricting Process

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 22, 2021 Media Contact:Sailor Jones, Communications Director, SCSJ, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906 Fair Maps Texas, the Texas NAACP, and the League of Women Voters Texas join the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) to prepare Texas residents to engage and educate communities in fair districting AUSTIN, TX (September 22, 2021) — As the […]

BREAKING: State Court Blocks NC’s Discriminatory Voter ID Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2021 MEDIA CONTACT: Sailor Jones, Communications Director, 919-260-5906, media@scsj.org SCSJ: The ruling “sends a strong message that racial discrimination will not be tolerated.” Raleigh, N.C. (September 17, 2021) — A state court struck down North Carolina’s voter ID law today, saying the law was, “ was motivated at least in part by an unconstitutional […]

South Carolina Groups Join Regional Effort to Prepare Voters for Redistricting Process

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 10, 2021 Media Contacts:Sailor Jones, Communications Director, SCSJ sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906Mary Dell Hayes, Project Manager, SC Counts, marydellhayes@stopgapsolutionsmd.com, 803-730-7785 South Carolina Counts and South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center join the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) to prepare South Carolina residents to engage and educate communities in fair districting COLUMBIA, S.C. […]

Georgia Groups Join Regional Effort to Prepare Voters for Redistricting Process

Media Contacts:Sailor Jones, Communications Director, SCSJ, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906Karuna Ramachandran, GRA, kramachandran@advancingjustice-atlanta.org, 404-585-8446 ext. 106 The Georgia Redistricting Alliance and ProGeorgia join the Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) to prepare Georgia residents to engage and educate communities in fair districting ATLANTA, GA (September 10, 2021) — As the nation gears up for this decade’s redistricting work, […]

BREAKING: Southern Coalition for Social Justice Responds to Passage of House Bill 805

SCSJ: “Politicians in Raleigh have made clear that they are willing to sacrifice the Constitutionally-guaranteed right to free speech“ DURHAM, N.C. (August 31, 2021) — Today, the North Carolina House passed HB805, an anti-protester and anti-BLM bill designed to stifle Constitutionally-protected free speech, assembly, and protest. Marcus Pollard, Counsel for Justice System Reform at Southern […]

Southern Coalition for Social Justice, Prison Policy Initiative Lead Anti-Prison Gerrymandering Campaign Throughout South

In collaboration with 14 Southern organizations, SCSJ targets 246 jurisdictions to advocate for an end to prison-based gerrymandering as 2020 Census data is released to policymakers. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 17, 2021CONTACTS:Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, Communications DirectorGino Nuzzolillo, gino@scsj.org, Communications Advocate Durham, N.C. (August 17, 2021) — The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ), partnering with […]

Southern Coalition for Social Justice Responds to Redistricting Data Release

SCSJ’s Allison Riggs: “We know the South is ready.” FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 12, 2021MEDIA CONTACT: Sailor Jones, Communications Director, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906 Durham, N.C. (August 12, 2021) — In response to the U.S. Census Bureau’s August 12 release of redistricting data, Allison Riggs, Co-Executive Director and Chief Counsel for Voting Rights with North Carolina-based Southern […]

N.C. Voting Rights Groups Demand Open Redistricting Process

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 2, 2021MEDIA CONTACTS:Sailor Jones, Communications Director, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906Hilary Harris Klein, Voting Rights Counsel, hilary@scsj.org, 919-794-4198 ext. 119 DURHAM, N.C. (August 2, 2021) — A coalition of North Carolina voting rights organizations are demanding an open process for drawing the state’s legislative and Congressional districts, outlined in a redistricting recommendations letter emailed […]

NC REPORT: Process to Fix Mail-in Ballots Saved Tens of Thousands of Votes in 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 29, 2021Media Contacts: Sailor Jones, 919-260-5906, sailor@scsj.orgGino Nuzzolillo, 402-415-4763, gino@scsj.org DURHAM, N.C. (July 29, 2021) — North Carolina’s 2020 mail-in “cure” process allowed nearly 20,000 North Carolinians to have their votes counted in the general election, according to a new report from Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ). In August 2020, […]

SCSJ Responds to Supreme Court Decision to Deny State Relief Under the Voting Rights Act

SCSJ: “Today, the Supreme Court ignored the impact of Arizona’s racist, anti-voter legislation” Durham, N.C. (July 1, 2021) — A ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court today denied challenges to two election restrictions in Arizona and narrowed the application of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act without foreclosing the possibility to bring future claims.  […]

OP-ED: NC Senate’s proposed budget includes measures that could undermine fair elections

Read SCSJ Executive Director and Chief Counsel for Voting Rights Allison Riggs’s Raleigh News & Observer op-ed HERE. ___________________________________________________________________________________ State Senators, sent to Raleigh to pass a budget that addresses North Carolinians’ needs, have just advanced new anti-voter proposals in a fiscal plan with lasting impacts on the freedom to vote. The latest version of […]

Southern Coalition for Social Justice Joins N.C. Voting Rights Advocates to Oppose Anti-Voter Bills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 14, 2021CONTACT: Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906 RALEIGH, N.C. (June 14, 2021) — Voting rights advocates converged on the grounds of the N.C. General Assembly on Monday for a press conference to speak out against Senate Bills 326, 724, and 725 as lawmakers ramp up efforts to restrict access to the ballot.  […]

SCSJ Represents Democracy North Carolina in Amicus Brief Urging State Court to Reject State’s Proposed Remedy Maps

Late Friday, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice submitted an amicus brief on behalf of Democracy North Carolina urging a three-judge state court panel in Common Cause v. Lewis to reject the “remedial” State Senate and House redistricting plans enacted by the General Assembly a little over a week ago. SCSJ and Democracy NC argued that those plans fail to eliminate the partisan bias that led the court to invalidate the prior plans as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders.