The Southern Coalition for Social Justice responds to community-determined priorities.  We view local social justice struggles from a global international human rights perspective.  We believe it takes a holistic, collective and interdisciplinary approach to address issues at their core -- in order to bring sustained structural change and to alter power relations.  Some of our current efforts include these interrelated issues:

• Protecting minority voting rights and strengthening meaningful opportunities for effective civic participation for all.

• Helping families keep the land that has been in their family for generations (Heirs Property) safe from developers, and helping to explore ways to make it a sustainable asset builder for their families.

• Advancing environmental justice and advocacy supporting community-driven efforts.

• Challenging racial discrimination at all stages of the criminal justice system and its impact on racial and ethnic minority communities.

• Facilitating access to quality health care by removing barriers facing communities of color and low-income patients.

• Ending discrimination against immigrants and the mistreatment of undocumented persons.

O'Neal Russ, Jackson Hamlet, North Carolina

Two Job Openings at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice - posted 7/23/08

Bringing a Community Media Center and Public Access Station to Durham, NC - Recent SCSJ coverage in the Durham Herald Sun, August 4, 2008.

NEW RESOURCE:  How do I register to vote in my state?  Do I need an ID to vote?  Get the answers to these and other basic questions about registering and voting in all 50 states and the District of Columbia at our voter info site here.

Dean v. Leake:  SCSJ Files Brief on behalf of NC NAACP in redistricting litigation on July 23, 2008.  Click here for details and a copy of the brief.

"Elizabeth City Fourth Ward City Councilman Kirk Rivers won another legal battle Wednesday in his ongoing efforts to fend off claims that he moved out of his ward.... " From 7/10/08 coverage of case in The Daily Advance. 

Meet the 2008 Summer Staff!

Bartlett vs. Strickland: On June 16, SCSJ filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court highlighting the history of intentional discrimination against black voters in Pender and New Hanover Counties. The goal of the case is to preserve black voting districts in North Carolina (read more).

NEW OFFICE OPENED: SCSJ is now located at 115 Market Street, Suite 470, Durham, N.C. 27701, in the Bull City Business Center.

Dean v. Leake: On April 14, 2008 the Court issued an order (available here) holding the case in abeyance until the Supreme Court disposes of the Bartlett v. Strickland appeal; and the plaintiffs appeal of the denial of a preliminary injunction.

Dean v. Leake: North Carolina redistricting case, the Plaintiffs' motion for a preliminary injunction has been denied; the North Carolina 2008 primaries will proceed as scheduled on May 6th. The Memorandum Opinion issued March 17, 2008 is here. The Court's brief order is available here.

A new report on voting rights in the South, from the Southern Regional Council, "State and Regional Trends in Voting Policy and Barriers to Civil Participation in Six Southern States: 2006 and 2007" is available here. The report examines key voting trends in Georgia, Kentucky, Louisana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia.