Women's Rights & Empowerment Network’s Post

Terrific to join justice champions at the 2024 Equal Justice Conference to learn more about seminal efforts that give everyone a fair shot at wellbeing. Center for Heirs' Property Preservation in South Carolina builds on assets and addresses policies and practices that undermine people’s ability to accumulate wealth. CHPP helps people keep intergenerational wealth when a family member dies without a will by providing direct legal assistance to clear title to property, mediating family interests, and support with the court process.  According to a 2022 Consumer Reports survey, 77% of Black and 82% of Hispanic Americans lack a will, compared to 61% of White Americans.

It has only been a few years since Juneteenth officially became a United States National Holiday, so some companies may still be deciding how they can best integrate and celebrate this national holiday throughout their companies. Here are some ideas to help get you started: 1. Volunteer as a company at a local event 2. Sponsor a Juneteenth event in your community 3. Expand your company's DEI efforts 4. Invite a civil rights or racial justice professional speaker to come and talk to your organization Happy Juneteenth everyone! The original concept for this post, and some of the ideas were taken from this article: https://lnkd.in/gC5vYHkm.

Juneteenth + Fair Housing = reasons to look back, look forward! Ten months after freedom came to enslaved people in Texas on June 19, 1865 — the occasion we remember as Juneteenth — Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the first federal law to call for racial equity in housing. Even at the dawn of emancipation, many already knew: freedom had to include fair housing. Our offices are closed in observance. But even as we look back, we look onward to securing fair housing for all. It’s our commitment not only to freedom, but to liberation. #Juneteenth #FairHousing #civilrightsact1866 #liberation

The below article from NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. discusses a case we tried with friends including them, The Arc of the United States, Reed Smith LLP and others in the late summer in San Antonio. There is no issue more important than protecting access to the ballot box for Americans, regardless of what language they speak, where they come from, or their disability status. Check it out!

Here’s my latest issue brief in CommonWealth Beacon on the proposal to establish a state reparations commission: a necessary step toward addressing past wrongs, or a distraction from more productive and pragmatic efforts to tackle racial disparities?

A well balanced assessment...

NEW: an Alabama trade association & civil rights advocacy group of Black real estate professionals has requested to intervene against a lawsuit attacking requirements that promote diversity and inclusion on the state's Real Estate Appraisers Board. This case is one of at least seven challenges to board composition provisions being litigated across the country which are also part of a nationwide, anti-democratic, regressive strategy of challenging diversity-related practices, seeking to turn back the clock. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gCwB-GMu

If Trump wins a second term, his administration is expected to roll back vital civil rights protections, restrict conversations about race and gender in classrooms, and dismantle DEI policies, undermining our ability to repair decades of discriminatory practices and thrive as a nation. Here is how ACLU will fight back against these attacks. https://lnkd.in/eeNCnDr7

This story is such a disappointing example of how so many of the public statements promoting systemic change, and efforts claiming to focus on diversity and inclusion have largely been ineffective lip service, achieving only the illusion of movement. This is not to take away from some of the incredibly important work being done by those promoting diversity and inclusion, but to bring attention to the fact that superficial efforts do not bring about any real change. There need to be sustained efforts focusing on the systemic racism and systematic exclusion deeply embedded in our communities and what needs to happen to effect true change. While the names of streets, schools, and other institutions in our communities are symptoms of profound underlying problems, the emotional impact and power of memorials and monuments that honor people, places, and events cannot be underestimated. These kinds of civic choices speak volumes about who and what we value within our communities. In order for change to be sustainable, it must first be sincere.  In order to reach that deeper place allowing for meaningful movement, we must find a way to acknowledge the fear and anxieties created by changing the familiar.  Especially as we approach another contentious election, we need to be open to recognizing the nuance inherent in difficult issues and the value of empathy in our conversations and actions.  This is how we will bring others along with us and achieve significant lasting change. #monuments #memorials #civicgovernment #administrativelaw #artlaw #artlawlawyer #systemicchange https://lnkd.in/gqtgevqu

In its 2022 Final Report, the NYC Racial Justice Commission recognized that true racial justice would require meaningful consideration of both a racial reconciliation process and reparations to compensate those who have suffered historical race-based injustices. It is gratifying to see that NYS has taken up the challenge of properly considering those healing processes as a way forward towards true racial justice. And among those who have been tapped to lead that work as part of New York State's Commission to Study Reparations and Racial Justice are former RJC Commissioners Jennifer Jones Austin, Darrick Hamilton and Lurie Daniel Favors. This important work could not be in better hands. #reparations #newyork #truthandreconciliation #racialjustice https://lnkd.in/e7Rwpdyp