The United States is home to the world’s largest prison population. The NAACP advocates for smarter, results-based criminal justice policies to keep our communities safe, including treatment for addiction and mental health problems, judicial discretion in sentencing, and an end to racial disparities at all levels of the system. DONATE TODAY. All rights reserved. Nation’s Premier Civil Rights Organization. How can policy in early childhood programs work to keep children in the education system? California Association of Black Lawyers P.O. ); Songs in the Key of Life - Stevie Wonder; Purple Rain - music and film; A People's History - Howard Zinn; Nina Simone Collection; U.S. Constitution; UN Declaration on Human Rights, Women's, and the Rights of the Child; Schematics for all major instruments and videos of them being played; Kind of Blue - Miles Davis; Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong - duet album; Charles Mingus, Ah Um; John Coltrane - A Love Supreme and Blue Train. Today, I'm here to talk about the promise of school integration, the rise of re-segregation, and the use of exclusionary and overly-punitive disciplinary practices that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline and limit educational opportunities for all students. https://twitter.com/NAACP_LDF/status/732335357543514112, https://twitter.com/NAACP_LDF/status/730462528325685248. Nelson started practicing law after receiving the 1998 NAACP LDF/Fried Frank Fellowship. My short bio: I'm Monique Lin-Luse, an assistant counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). It was not until LDF’s subsequent victories in cases such as Cooper v. Aaron (1958)2, Green v. County School Board (1968)3, and Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg (1971)4, that the Supreme Court issued mandates that ultimately required all vestiges of desegregation to be eliminated “root and branch.”. The Legal Department’s Civil Rights Practice Areas include redistricting, criminal justice, fair housing, education and Environmental Justice. The NAACP is frequently asked to submit Amicus Briefs in civil rights cases, regarding a number of varied legal issues. African Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whites. Racial quotas in university admissions are impermissible, and we don't advocate for their use. What do you think of Obama's supreme court pick? from New York University and her J.D. Slave Patrols allowed forcible entry into any home solely based on suspicions of protecting runaway slaves. In addition to the problems surrounding segregation, students of color are also increasingly drawn into a phenomenon labeled the school-to-prison pipeline, facing policies and practices that push students out of the education system and into the criminal and juvenile justice systems. ._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ{border:1px solid transparent;display:block;padding:0 16px;width:100%;border:1px solid var(--newCommunityTheme-body);border-radius:4px;box-sizing:border-box}._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ:hover{background-color:var(--newCommunityTheme-primaryButtonTintedEighty)}._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ._2FebEA49ReODemDlwzYHSR,._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ:active,._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ:hover{color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);fill:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText)}._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ._2FebEA49ReODemDlwzYHSR,._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ:active{background-color:var(--newCommunityTheme-primaryButtonShadedEighty)}._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ:disabled,._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ[data-disabled],._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ[disabled]{background-color:var(--newCommunityTheme-primaryButtonTintedFifty);color:rgba(var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText),.5);fill:rgba(var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText),.5);cursor:not-allowed}._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ:active,._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ:disabled,._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ:hover,._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ[data-disabled],._1zyZUfB30L-DDI98CCLJlQ[disabled]{border:1px solid var(--newCommunityTheme-body)}._1O2i-ToERP3a0i4GSL0QwU,._1uBzAtenMgErKev3G7oXru{display:block;fill:var(--newCommunityTheme-body);height:22px;width:22px}._1O2i-ToERP3a0i4GSL0QwU._2ilDLNSvkCHD3Cs9duy9Q_,._1uBzAtenMgErKev3G7oXru._2ilDLNSvkCHD3Cs9duy9Q_{height:14px;width:14px}._2kBlhw4LJXNnk73IJcwWsT,._1kRJoT0CagEmHsFjl2VT4R{height:24px;padding:0;width:24px}._2kBlhw4LJXNnk73IJcwWsT._2ilDLNSvkCHD3Cs9duy9Q_,._1kRJoT0CagEmHsFjl2VT4R._2ilDLNSvkCHD3Cs9duy9Q_{height:14px;width:14px}._3VgTjAJVNNV7jzlnwY-OFY{font-size:14px;line-height:32px;padding:0 16px}._3VgTjAJVNNV7jzlnwY-OFY,._3VgTjAJVNNV7jzlnwY-OFY._2ilDLNSvkCHD3Cs9duy9Q_{font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.5px;text-transform:uppercase}._3VgTjAJVNNV7jzlnwY-OFY._2ilDLNSvkCHD3Cs9duy9Q_{font-size:12px;line-height:24px;padding:4px 9px 2px;width:100%}._2QmHYFeMADTpuXJtd36LQs{font-size:14px;line-height:32px;padding:0 16px}._2QmHYFeMADTpuXJtd36LQs,._2QmHYFeMADTpuXJtd36LQs._2ilDLNSvkCHD3Cs9duy9Q_{font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.5px;text-transform:uppercase}._2QmHYFeMADTpuXJtd36LQs._2ilDLNSvkCHD3Cs9duy9Q_{font-size:12px;line-height:24px;padding:4px 9px 2px;width:100%}._2QmHYFeMADTpuXJtd36LQs:hover ._31L3r0EWsU0weoMZvEJcUA{display:none}._2QmHYFeMADTpuXJtd36LQs ._31L3r0EWsU0weoMZvEJcUA,._2QmHYFeMADTpuXJtd36LQs:hover ._11Zy7Yp4S1ZArNqhUQ0jZW{display:block}._2QmHYFeMADTpuXJtd36LQs ._11Zy7Yp4S1ZArNqhUQ0jZW{display:none}._2CLbCoThTVSANDpeJGlI6a{width:100%}._2CLbCoThTVSANDpeJGlI6a:hover ._31L3r0EWsU0weoMZvEJcUA{display:none}._2CLbCoThTVSANDpeJGlI6a ._31L3r0EWsU0weoMZvEJcUA,._2CLbCoThTVSANDpeJGlI6a:hover ._11Zy7Yp4S1ZArNqhUQ0jZW{display:block}._2CLbCoThTVSANDpeJGlI6a ._11Zy7Yp4S1ZArNqhUQ0jZW{display:none} Despite making up close to 5% of the global population, the U.S. has nearly 25% of the world’s prison population. Incarceration and early deaths are the main drivers behind their absence. The NAACP can only accept a small fraction of the legal aid requests they receive. Since 1970, our incarcerated population has increased by 700%. Since then, African American communities have continued to be under surveillance and targeted by police, including, but not limited to, the era of War on Drugs and mass incarceration. Many of these issues go directly to the heart of the NAACP’s mission and work. https://t.co/Ob3JD2UO0r, Thank you @CoryBooker. Isn't that racism? As the legal arm of the civil rights movement, LDF has a tradition of expert legal advocacy in the Supreme Court and other courts across the nation. Since 1991 the rate of violent crime in the United States has fallen by about 20%, while the number of people in prison or jail has risen by 50%. This is another example of blatant #votersuppression! One out of every three Black boys born today can expect to be sentenced to prison, compared 1 out 6 Latino boys; one out of 17 white boys. In more recent decades, LDF has remained at the forefront of the ongoing struggle to ensure a high-quality and equitable opportunity to learn for all of our nation’s youth. Slave Patrols continued until the end of the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment. African American defendants are 22% more likely to have convictions involving police misconduct that eventually result in exoneration. We encourage you to visit https://t.co/6ELgpq5rND to join the new #NAACP Community and apply for grants. Tia Lawson —Paralegal Specialist. Press J to jump to the feed. In its first two decades, LDF undertook a coordinated legal assault against officially enforced public school segregation. New cases of COVID-19 have soared across hot spots in the United States in the last few weeks – even as daily infection rates in the nation have remained flat. Jim Crow Laws continued through the end of the 1960s. Wages are equivalent to less than $1 per hour in most penal labor programs with up to 12-hour workdays. Each year, through a rigorous selection process, the NAACP National Legal Department chooses several students from law schools across the nation to participate in the summer Law Fellow Program. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 700 14th Street N.W. For example, note how few civil wars have been recorded since the time of the ancient Greeks (regarding the American Civil War, as president Lincoln said to a group of prominent Negroes. We encourage you to visit https://t.co/6ELgpq5rND to join the new #NAACP Community and apply for grants. The NAACP seeks to eliminate harsh and unfair sentencing practices that are responsible for mass incarceration and racial disparities in the prison system. There are 3 million people in jail and prison today, far outpacing population growth and crime. What do you see as issues on the horizon that the NAACP legal defense fund wants to take on? ._9ZuQyDXhFth1qKJF4KNm8{padding:12px 12px 40px}._2iNJX36LR2tMHx_unzEkVM,._1JmnMJclrTwTPpAip5U_Hm{font-size:16px;font-weight:500;line-height:20px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);margin-bottom:40px;padding-top:4px}._306gA2lxjCHX44ssikUp3O{margin-bottom:32px}._1Omf6afKRpv3RKNCWjIyJ4{font-size:18px;font-weight:500;line-height:22px;border-bottom:2px solid var(--newCommunityTheme-line);color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);margin-bottom:8px;padding-bottom:8px}._2Ss7VGMX-UPKt9NhFRtgTz{margin-bottom:24px}._3vWu4F9B4X4Yc-Gm86-FMP{border-bottom:1px solid var(--newCommunityTheme-line);margin-bottom:8px;padding-bottom:2px}._3vWu4F9B4X4Yc-Gm86-FMP:last-of-type{border-bottom-width:0}._2qAEe8HGjtHsuKsHqNCa9u{font-size:14px;font-weight:500;line-height:18px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);padding-bottom:8px;padding-top:8px}.c5RWd-O3CYE-XSLdTyjtI{padding:8px 0}._3whORKuQps-WQpSceAyHuF{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon);margin-bottom:8px}._1Qk-ka6_CJz1fU3OUfeznu{margin-bottom:8px}._3ds8Wk2l32hr3hLddQshhG{font-weight:500}._1h0r6vtgOzgWtu-GNBO6Yb,._3ds8Wk2l32hr3hLddQshhG{font-size:12px;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon)}._1h0r6vtgOzgWtu-GNBO6Yb{font-weight:400}.horIoLCod23xkzt7MmTpC{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:#ea0027}._33Iw1wpNZ-uhC05tWsB9xi{margin-top:24px}._2M7LQbQxH40ingJ9h9RslL{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon);margin-bottom:8px} In early 2000, the percentage of Black people on death row were as follows for the states below: 66% of juveniles sentenced to death are people of color, two-thirds of the crimes committed involved white victims. However, there is another aspect to this strategy which has been given little importance or recognition (if any). Children whose parents are involved in the criminal justice system suffer from: psychological strain, antisocial behavior, suspension or expulsion from school, economic hardship, and are six times more likely to be involved in criminal activity. African Americans represent only 13% of the general population. If my memory serves me correctly, Justice O'Connor predicted the end of affirmative action policies in the not-so-distant future (could've been a different Justice). 600, Washington, DC 20005 (202) 682-1300 Hundreds of corporations benefit from penal labor, including some of our largest major corporations. ._33axOHPa8DzNnTmwzen-wO{font-size:14px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.5px;line-height:32px;text-transform:uppercase;display:block;padding:0 16px;width:100%}