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Human Rights - Here at Home
2008 has been an exciting year - it boasts the 60th anniversary of the International Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the first full year of life for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. Our mission is to work to fulfill those promises of human rights for all - right here in the U.S. South.
In June, we opened our first office in the Bull City Business Center in downtown Durham. We have grown to a staff of six full-time workers, and met and worked with committed volunteers and important communities. In spite of the economic downturn, we have had the support to tackle important and timely community justice issues. We look forward to what the future will bring as we work together to help build the kind of communities, and the kind of change we all deserve.
Some of our 2008 campaigns and cases have addressed:
The Right to Home, Land, and Legacy
The Right to Political Voice and Representation without Intimidation
The Right to Live Without Fear and Discrimination
The Right to Organize With Your Community for Change
Citizens Against OLF in Gates County (northeastern NC) is working to prevent the U.S. Navy from building an outlying landing field, which would displace many families and destroy a tight-knit rural community. Together, we submitted questions to the Navy as part of their assessment of the environmental impact. Additionally, the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic agreed to conduct research in order to produce a shadow environmental impact report.
This fall we conducted a media workshop to help the community members develop media strategies that will help them tell their stories, and are creating a short documentary film that will draw attention to the campaign.
Freeman Beach is the last 167 acres of undeveloped beach front property on Carolina Beach. Along with the Freeman family, we have chronicled the history of this area from its early status as the only public beach accessible to African-Americans during Jim Crow - to its current status as one of the few undeveloped swaths along the southeastern NC coastline.
The beach sits a few miles away from the recently commemorated memorial to the 1898 Wilmington Race Riots, which resulted in widespread dispossession of land and assets from black families. In addition to researching the history of this area, we represent the Freeman family in litigation and are working to partner with the Trust for Public Land to preserve this unique, historic public beach.
SCSJ defended Kirk Rivers and worked with the NC NAACP to organize community support to Stop the Witch Hunt for the popularly elected African American City Councilman in Elizabeth City, who was being bullied out of his seat by Republican activists -- and in September of this year - we organized, fought back, and won a ruling that kept Mr. Rivers in his seat so that he could continue to represent his constituents.
Under the 287(g) program, which gives local law enforcement the right to enforce Federal immigration laws, immigrants have been bearing the brunt of policies that are being used to target regular working people - not the so-called "hardened criminals" it proported to target. When we heard that the state was coordinating a massive campaign of DUI checkpoints on 8/8/08, we wanted to insure that the checkpoints would not be used as a tool for racial profiling against Hispanic or black motorists.
In cooperation with several community partners, we organized checkpoint monitors in Alamance and Wake counties who watched the checkpoints and documented any unfair treatment experienced by people who were being stopped.
Also - on Saturday, December 14, we helped organize a protest at the Wake County Jail to oppose their 287(g) agreement with other participants of SHROC (the Southern Human Rights Organizers Conference).
As we enter 2009, there is much work to be done. Next year, SCSJ is working with Student Action with Farmworkers to address human trafficking and the abuse and exploitation of undocumented farmworkers throughout the South.
Please help us make this happen by sending in your secure tax deductible donation to the Southern Coalition for Social Justice today!
Checks can be made payable to Southern Coalition for Social Justice and mailed to: SCSJ, 115 Market St., Ste 470, Durham, NC 27701
Thank you for your continued support.
Anita, Marty, Elena, Jillian, Tionya, and Chris
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Gates County Citizens Against OLF
Freeman Beach, NC
Carolina Beach, NC:
Ruby Freeman
Elizabeth City, NC: Anita Earls with Kirk Rivers and his family
Youtube videos by student volunteers with SCSJ and Independent Voices
Prop 8 Rally in Raleigh
Farmworker supporters protest at a Subway in Chapel Hill
We would like to thank the following organizations for their financial support:
The Ford Foundation
Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation
Triangle Community Foundation
Southern Poverty Law Center
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