Two SCSJ attorneys, four SCSJ legal interns, and four law student volunteers conducted a pro bono wills’ clinic July 9-11 in Tarboro, North Carolina. With a huge assist from the Edgecombe County Cooperative Extension office, attorneys and students discussed end-of-life issues with 13 Edgecombe County residents.
These discussion led to the production of more than 40 documents, including wills, living wills, powers of attorney, and health care powers of attorney, for residents who otherwise could not have afforded the services. “End of life planning is a key to preventing problems we frequently see in our office, such as heirs’ property and associated African-American land loss. This clinic was a great way of not only dealing with the source of these problems, but also providing pro bono legal assistance to an underserved community,” says SCSJ staff attorney Becky Jaffe, who coordinated the clinic.
“Apex can’t actually prohibit abortions, whether it’s for an employee or not. But our plan can,” says Republican Apex mayor Keith Weatherly. Indeed, the town of Apex has recently removed coverage for abortions from the city’s health care plan except in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother is at risk.
Provoked by anti-choice State Rep. Paul Stam, numerous counties and the NC League of Municipalities, which determines the plan for over 200 municipalities, have quickly followed suit. More counties are now threatening to do the same.
However, abortion coverage is a normal part of comprehensive health coverage. More than 85 percent of private insurance plans provide coverage. Erica Scott of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina and Patricia Dillon of Planned Parenthood say, “Removing abortion coverage from an employee benefit package is a clear example of politicians placing their own divisive agenda ahead of what is best for the citizens of the towns and counties they represent.”
To read more about this issue, click here.
Recently, the Immigrant Justice organizing interns attended two events. On Friday, June 18th, we went to action with the NC DREAM Team at UNC-Chapel Hill where Senator Kay Hagan was the keynote speaker for a luncheon hosted by Action for Children, an organization that works to benefit the education of all children in North Carolina. We hoped to get Senator Hagan to support and co-sponsor the DREAM Act. While she did hold a brief meeting with the young women on a hunger strike, she still refused to support the bill. Later that day, we joined activists and allies at Senator Hagan’s office hours in speaking to her about the DREAM Act and immigration reform.
These two meetings turned out to be the only opportunities that the activists had to meet with Sen. Hagan over the span of their two-week hunger strike. Although this day was seemingly frustrating, Hagan has since released a statement saying, "I believe the Dream Act should be considered in the context of comprehensive immigration reform.”
On Saturday, we led a "Know Your Rights" training in Zebulon at a Latino church which has been targeted for police checkpoints scheduled during church services. We had adapted some aspects of the training based on the previous one held in Winston-Salem and found the changes to be more interactive. The congregation had plenty of questions for staff attorney Marty Rosenbluth about their rights and the state of immigration enforcement. Towards the end of the presentation, the focus shifted to organizing for immigrant justice and the level of energy reflected the need for reform.
On Friday June 25, SCSJ staff attorney Christopher Brook, SCSJ organizer Rebecca Fontaine, and Moore County, North Carolina community activist Maurice Holland headed up a panel discussion at the US Social Forum in Detroit, Michigan.
The panel, entitled Law and Organizing Partnerships that Build Worker and Community Power, focused on the community lawyering model that allows communities to respond to their needs with the legal and organizing support of organizations like SCSJ. Brook, Fontaine, and Holland discussed the background of community lawyering as well as the benefits and pitfalls associated with the model. They also led a spirited discussion of successful community efforts by African-American communities in Moore County to obtain the sewer, water, and police protection resources they deserved.
The panel, attended by representatives from the US Department of Labor, like-minded community organizations, community activists, and law students, offered an opportunity for panelists and attendees to learn more about what has worked in community lawyering, and problems confronted by similarly situated communities.
Brook, Fontaine, and Holland, as well an SCSJ delegation, were able to attend the Social Forum due to financial support from individuals like you. To allow us to continue making a difference in communities that are changing the world please click here to give.
Written by Lauren Traugott-Campbell, Organizing Intern
My Friday morning began about 10 blocks from Detroit's JP Morgan Chase headquarters. Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) and Moratorium NOW called for a march and rally and were met with the enthusiasm of hundreds of activists chanting "Bail out the people, not the banks!" and waving red flags that read "Hasta la Victoria!" Energized by the presence of local percussion band, Cakalak Thunder, we descended upon Chase's skyscraper.
Members of FLOC condemned Chase's investments in Reynolds American, one of the US' biggest tobacco corporations which profits from the exploitation of tobacco field workers', and threatened them with a boycott set to begin in the fall. Moratorium NOW also spoke to their demand that Chase Bank immediately stops all foreclosures, evictions and utility shutoffs in Detroit.
Looking around at the empty homes throughout the city coupled with hearing testimonies about the working conditions in the NC tobacco fields, the reality of Chase's priorities became painfully clear and the reason for the union of these two groups' seemingly different demands was evident.
I then spent my afternoon at Oakland Sister Circle's workshop entitled "Addressing Misogyny and Counter-Organizing in the Movement." This was space for activists to share and react to the ways in which patriarchy manifests in the social justice sphere, even despite men's & queers' good intentions and feminist labels. Discussion centered on the reality that the personal is political and the need for restorative justice infrastructure within organizations. I left with a copy of their powerful magazine entitled "Undefeated" and a better understanding of the way patriarchy and other forms of oppression can manifest, even in the movement.
After the workshops were over, I had the opportunity to see some of Detroit's artwork. We headed out to see the Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art project that spans across vacant lots and foreclosed homes in Detroit's East Side. Tyree Guyton started the project 24 years ago and has since filled it with discarded objects ranging from stuffed animals to shopping carts. The withstanding presence of ovens filled with shoes instead of food and the plethora of junk that inhabits these homes instead of people emphasized the priority that capitalism places on things instead of people.
Our art sightings continued as we visited the Detroit Institute of Art Museum and marveled at Diego Rivera's mural that sprawled across all four walls of the room. The piece, funded by Henry Ford, depicts the dichotomy of the auto-industry with its images of workers and bosses along with other themes that plague the city of Detroit and the US at large.
I left Detroit with new skills, new visions, new connections and a rejuvenated commitment to fighting for social justice in the South.
Written by Garrett Sumner, Organizing Intern
On Thursday, the first workshop I attended was entitled “Globalization, Criminalization, and Managed Migration: Root Causes and Immigration Rights,” presented by the National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. We talked about the different forces which drive international migration and expanded the discussion beyond the typical US and Latin American model. For example, we talked about the trade agreement between Italy and Libya, which allows Italy access to Libya’s natural resources. In turn, Italy provides foreign aid to Libya. However, the agreement stipulates that Libya must use most of this aid to enforce immigration policies to limit migration to Italy. Thus, the aid directly benefits Italy itself while, suffering Libyans are unable to migrate to the country that benefits off of their natural resources.
The second workshop I attended was titled “Israeli Apartheid, International Solidarity and Water Justice.” We discussed the detrimental water use policies in the Palestinian Occupied Territories and how Israel diverts Palestinian water as a means of collective punishment. The workshop turned into a healthy dialogue about the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and we deconstructed the “us vs. them” mentality often present in the discourse about the conflict.
Later, I walked through Detroit, witnessing at once its lost grandeur and its current deprivation. The plight of the city’s economy was apparent as businesses throughout the city were closed. While its architecture, constructed with past automobile money, seemingly displayed a titan of industry, there are now entire blocks of unoccupied or abandoned buildings. The US Social Forum is an appropriate first step for a city moving forward.
Have you wondered why the Social Forum is being held in Detroit? Many people at the forum, including much of the SCSJ delegation, have never visited Detroit and they got the chance to learn about the city's significance on Wednesday. At the evening plenary, we all learned why Detroit is known as the "City of Resistance.”
Grace Boggs, Detroit’s renowned anti-racism and civil rights community activist fervently detailed the history of political and racial struggle in Detroit, which led to the coining of the term. She explained that Detroit, in the midst of the economic crisis with its car industry, was selected to be the host because of the opportunity it presents to “create something new and something different.”
She, along with former Black Panther members, talked about the many national movements that began in Detroit, including the Shrine, the Freedom Now Party, the National Labor Relations Board, and the Nation of Islam.
In the second part of the plenary, we learned about Detroit’s role as a “border city” and how “secure” the U.S. and Canadian border has become since September 11. While the U.S.-Mexico border cities contain stories of harassment against the Latin@ community, the American Muslim community as well as the Latin@ community, are simultaneously targeted here.
The first mosque in the U.S was founded Detroit in 1921 and the Nation of Islam was founded here in 1931. Since then, the Muslim community has commuted between Windsor, Canada and Detroit, MI for worship. Panelist Malik Yakini from the Counsel of American-Islamic Relations, explained that “every international issue facing the Arab world are local issues faced by the Islamic community in Detroit.” He communicated that their right to worship freely has been greatly affected.
Further talks reflected the infringement upon human rights on a variety of issues. To learn more about the US Social Forum, click here. For more pictures, click here.
The US Social Forum 2010 has begun! SCSJ is among the 1800 organizations in Detroit, MI attending the forum titled: Another World is Possible, Another US is Necessary, Another Detroit is Happening.
The week-long forum was launched with a march attended by over 13,000 diverse people. The atmosphere is full of a collective spirit ready for change.
The protesters are concerned about the shut-offs of Detroit's city utilities against elderly, disabled, welfare, and low-income recipients who have fallen behind in paying their bills. They are seeking a moratorium to the shut-offs after at least 4 people died as a result of their effects.
The March ended at Cobo Hall with a celebration and dance from the Native Americans from Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
At the forum, every major issue concerning the US has a place to be considered. We are looking forward to an enlightening week! For more pictures, click here.
What do you get when you give immigrants the tools to document violations of their human rights? The Coalición de Organizaciones Latino-Americanas (COLA) has discovered that in telling their stories, immigrants find support, develop stronger shared analyses together, and become leaders in denouncing the abuses they experience. In addition, you will find truths that cannot be denied and the sickening details behind the abuses against immigrants normalized by mainstream society's stereotypes and criminalization of immigrants and people of color. Those details collected through documentation also become critical data that grassroots leaders can use to address anti immigrant policies such as 287(g) and Secure Communities programs, which COLA has done in Western NC.
With the goal of empowering even more immigrant and refugee communities with the same tools, a coalition of organizations including COLA, SCSJ, American Friends Service Committee, North Carolina Justice Center, and the Latin American Coalition hosted the first statewide Human Rights Immigrant Community Action Network (HURRICANE) Training on May 8th in Greensboro. The groups represented a multiethnic immigrant community in North Carolina including representatives from the Muslim American Society, El Centro Hispano, Immigrant Solidarity Committee of Charlotte, Neighborhood Good Samaritan Center and United African Sisters, each with members who have directly experienced or witnessed human rights abuses as immigrants.
The training started with discussions built on developing a stronger shared analysis about what community documentation means. As the day progressed, the participants learned more about each other’s stories, setting the precedent for future partnerships. Over the next few months, participants will begin gathering stories, organizing story telling nights, and hosting more trainings to further develop leadership. In the long term, the organizations hope to identify trends via the documentation and initiate organizing to combat them. SCSJ is committed to continuing this work and further expand participation in this project, which creates a platform for immigrants to tell their own stories and advocate on their own behalf.
Not only have SCSJ’s community partners throughout the South been working hard to reduce the undercount, but they have also been using the census as an organizing tool for building sustainable grassroots power. Sixty-eight organizations in five states – VA, NC, GA, FL and LA – have implemented their own unique outreach projects through funds from SCSJ’s mini-grant program. These groups and other organizations are collaborating with the communities they support and are a part of – disenfranchised communities that the Census Bureau has struggled to count for decades, such as working-class families, communities of color, homeless people and new immigrant communities.
Conducting outreach around the census has been a fantastic opportunity for grassroots community organizations to build their base, strengthen their capacity, and cultivate relationships with other progressive and grassroots organizations. In Guildford County, NC, various groups joined forces to form the Census Community Coalition, with strong representation from the Latin@ community, the Arab/Middle Eastern community, African immigrant groups, the Montagnard Dega community, the African-American community, and local student groups.
Organizations like FaithAction International House, Montagnard Dega Association, La Vela Center, and the Islamic Center of the Triad have collaborated to develop their grassroots analysis of the census while sharing resources and strategies. Some examples of outreach in their communities include door-to-door canvassing, church announcements, flyering at local events, and new technology messaging through YouTube videos. Working off of their census partnerships, this coalition and others across the south will continue to mobilize and politicize their constituents and membership, through redistricting and beyond.
Haven’t been counted in the census yet? Not sure? Call the Census Bureau’s hotline to get counted or have your questions answered.
Take a stroll through Durham civil and human rights activism (past and present) on the Pauli Murray Project’s ever growing website.
Through audio interviews and text embedded in an interactive map you can see the layered stories behind the new pedestrian bridge lowered over the Durham Freeway/147. This bridge re-connects a neighborhood, home to mostly African-American working-class families, bisected when highway 147 was routed through it twenty years ago.
You might have known about the 1957 protests in front of the Royal Ice Cream Parlor on Roxboro Road, just north of downtown, long before the historical marker was erected this year, but do you know this site is a few blocks away from a central locale on W. Main St. where human rights activists fight healthcare injustices within the offices of the organization El Centro Hispano?
Durham is a city with a rich history of struggle for racial and economic justice, for human and civil rights, and this interactive map is the start of reclaiming the specific and complex histories of Durham. Take, for example, the West Village Apartment Buildings—formerly the Liggett Myers Tobacco Factory, closed in 1999. When you click on the link, you see a photo of workers walking under the covered bridge that is now a corridor from one apartment building to another. This older photo is placed between current pictures of a pristine blue swimming pool and a spacious hardwood floored apartment of West Village. An audio clip narrates a worker’s memory of work in the building when black and white women workers were segregated.
Current marketing of downtown Durham feature the famous tobacco warehouses-turned-studio-apartments/faux-revolution-restaurants that are the revamped darlings of this city. To a visitor or new resident, these buildings may hint at a story of gritty work and harder times, without really knowing the specific story of working conditions, or the multi-racial anti-segregation activist organization housed down the street from this segregated workplace.
For many downtown visitors and loft-dwellers, the ambiguous stories of harder times embodied within the structures of the high-ceiling brick-walled tobacco buildings somehow sweeten the food in the farm-to-fork restaurants. The walls that were constructed to facilitate an industry reliant upon monoculture farming, sharecropping, and racially and economically stratified industry are now filled with food from small, local farms and a ‘clean’ restaurant industry.
However, these buildings are more than testaments of the tobacco industry in Durham and the city’s re-emergence as a city fueled by research, education and pharmaceuticals. They house stories of stratification that still linger in Durham’s under-invested and segregated neighborhoods, displacing processes of gentrification, and trials of low-wage restaurant, farm-worker, service, and healthcare workers.
This map is a way to explore past struggles and triumphs of Durham as they intertwine with the present. Check it out and re-engage with the struggles of Durham as you travel to work, the farmer’s market, or settle in at home.
Mapping Civil and Human Activism—
http://paulimurrayproject.org/mapping-civil-human-activism-live-now/
Making sure every person counts in the 2010 Census is an enormous undertaking, particularly for homeless individuals who will not receive a questionnaire in the mail. Increased funding for critical services comes into communities as a result of an accurate count - things like emergency services, job training, hospitals, and public infrastructure support. One Virginia organization is making sure their communities get all the services they need by making an accurate count a top priority.
The Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness (VCEH) works to prevent and eliminate homelessness in the state through a number of methods including education, advocacy and capacity building. They are employing these same tactics to ensure the homeless population of Virginia is counted in this year's census.
By working with case managers and staff at homeless service agencies who already have relationships with individuals experiencing homelessness, VCEH hopes to build trust with this community and start a movement. VCEH will also provide technical assistance to the community with clear instructions on how to be counted. With an accurate count, those experiencing homelessness will be one step closer to getting the resources they need to build power and create lasting change.
Two SCSJ attorneys, four SCSJ legal interns, and four law student volunteers conducted a pro bono wills’ clinic July 9-11 in Tarboro, North Carolina. With a huge assist from the Edgecombe County Cooperative Extension office, attorneys and students discussed end-of-life issues with 13 Edgecombe County residents.
These discussion led to the production of more than 40 documents, including wills, living wills, powers of attorney, and health care powers of attorney, for residents who otherwise could not have afforded the services. “End of life planning is a key to preventing problems we frequently see in our office, such as heirs’ property and associated African-American land loss. This clinic was a great way of not only dealing with the source of these problems, but also providing pro bono legal assistance to an underserved community,” says SCSJ staff attorney Becky Jaffe, who coordinated the clinic.
“Apex can’t actually prohibit abortions, whether it’s for an employee or not. But our plan can,” says Republican Apex mayor Keith Weatherly. Indeed, the town of Apex has recently removed coverage for abortions from the city’s health care plan except in cases of rape, incest, or where the life of the mother is at risk.
Provoked by anti-choice State Rep. Paul Stam, numerous counties and the NC League of Municipalities, which determines the plan for over 200 municipalities, have quickly followed suit. More counties are now threatening to do the same.
However, abortion coverage is a normal part of comprehensive health coverage. More than 85 percent of private insurance plans provide coverage. Erica Scott of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina and Patricia Dillon of Planned Parenthood say, “Removing abortion coverage from an employee benefit package is a clear example of politicians placing their own divisive agenda ahead of what is best for the citizens of the towns and counties they represent.”
To read more about this issue, click 
Recently, the Immigrant Justice organizing interns attended two events. On Friday, June 18th, we went to action with the 
On Friday June 25, SCSJ staff attorney Christopher Brook, SCSJ organizer Rebecca Fontaine, and Moore County, North Carolina community activist Maurice Holland headed up a panel discussion at the US Social Forum in Detroit, Michigan.
The panel, entitled Law and Organizing Partnerships that Build Worker and Community Power, focused on the community lawyering model that allows communities to respond to their needs with the legal and organizing support of organizations like SCSJ. Brook, Fontaine, and Holland discussed the background of community lawyering as well as the benefits and pitfalls associated with the model. They also led a spirited discussion of successful community efforts by African-American communities in Moore County to obtain the sewer, water, and police protection resources they deserved.
The panel, attended by representatives from the US Department of Labor, like-minded community organizations, community activists, and law students, offered an opportunity for panelists and attendees to learn more about what has worked in community lawyering, and problems confronted by similarly situated communities.
Brook, Fontaine, and Holland, as well an SCSJ delegation, were able to attend the Social Forum due to financial support from individuals like you. To allow us to continue making a difference in communities that are changing the world please click 
Written by Lauren Traugott-Campbell, Organizing Intern
My Friday morning began about 10 blocks from Detroit's JP Morgan Chase headquarters. 
Written by Garrett Sumner, Organizing Intern
On Thursday, the first workshop I attended was entitled “Globalization, Criminalization, and Managed Migration: Root Causes and Immigration Rights,” presented by the 
What do you get when you give immigrants the tools to document violations of their human rights? The 
Not only have SCSJ’s community partners throughout the South been 
Take a stroll through Durham civil and human rights activism (past and present) on the 
Making sure every person counts in the