SCSJ believes that voting rights secure the voices of people of color in critical decisions that affect local communities and that have the potential to create progressive social change. We provide counsel to local community groups regarding redistricting and we speak on behalf of clients at local town hall meetings and legislative committees.
Southern Leadership for Voter Engagement (SOLVE)
SCSJ coordinates and is a member of SOLVE, a multi-state network formed in 2013 that facilitates collaboration and shares best practices in multidisciplinary advocacy, sound grassroots mobilization, and legislative and legal strategies to ensure fair and equitable voting practices. SCSJ also coordinates SOLVE’s annual convening.
Community Redistricting Organizations Working for Democracy (CROWD) Academies
SCSJ is working with other groups to lay the groundwork for a fair and accurate count in the 2020 Census, with a particular focus on ensuring the full participation of traditionally hard-to-count communities. We are also planning a series of redistricting schools that will educate communities of color and economically disadvantaged communities in the South about redistricting practices that might limit their participation in the political process and build capacity in these communities to draw their own maps. The recipe for success in ensuring that the voting strength of communities of color does not suffer setbacks in the upcoming process includes establishing a collaborative framework to educate community organizations across the South about the new redistricting reality without the protections of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, to put technology and data analysis in their hands, and to assist in developing strategies to advocate for their rights in legislatures and, if needed, in the courtroom.
SCSJ is partnering with community organizations in several states across the South to offer in-depth training sessions to educate community organizers on the redistricting process and potential voting rights violations following the 2020 census. CROWD Academies will equip individuals and organizations with tools to monitor and engage with redistricting processes at every level of government, spot warning signs and take action if decisions are likely to infringe on the right to an equal opportunity to participate in elections.