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Equal
Justice Society e-Newsletter - Issue 8 - Fall 2006
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SUBSCRIBE IN THIS ISSUE Letter from the President: Connecting the Dots Notes on the Right: The Enduring Importance of Strategy EJS December 8 Fundraiser Features Harriet Tubman Jazz Oratorio Vote Yes on 89: 'Clean Money' Initiative First California, Now Michigan: Putting Race up for a Vote Supreme Court to Revisit Brown v. Board in School Cases EJS, CTA Look at Unconscious Bias in Schools U.N. Committee Criticizes Racism in U.S. New Voting Rights Act Under Attack A First Look at the Roberts Court Latina/o Law Student Symposium Foundations Support EJS Efforts to Balance Racial Justice Debate Farewell from our Irmas Fellow
Newsletter
Editors: |
Letter
from the President: When you were a kid, did you like to play connect the dots? You'd look at a bunch of seemingly random dots and, as you slowly connected them, a clear pattern emerged. That game guides my thinking about politics and law and social change. EJS embodies that way of thinking. Here are some random occurrences - some dots, if you will. |
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on the Right: The Enduring Importance of Strategy
I recently attended a talk at the Open Society Institute in New York by James Piereson, a veteran strategist in the conservative funding establishment. Piereson expressed confidence that the right wing infrastructure he helped build, now a mature complex of think tanks, advocacy groups and legal organizations such as the Federalist Society, would be able to weather the many challenges it currently faces. |
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EJS December 8 Fundraiser Features Harriet Tubman Jazz Oratorio
Harriet Tubman's heroic spirit will come alive for one special evening when the Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra performs a brilliant new work-in-progress, Bound for the Promised Land. This jazz oratorio composed by Shelby will be performed at the 2006 EJS Annual Gala on Friday, December 8th at The Regency Center in San Francisco. For tickets & more information, please visit www.harriettubmanjazz.com. |
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'Clean
Money' Initiative Prop. 89
The
Equal Justice Society urges all California voters to support Proposition
89, the initiative on the November 7 ballot that will reduce political
corruption and the influence of special interests, and create
a level playing field for California elections. |
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First
California, Now Michigan: Putting Race up for a Vote On November 7, Michigan voters will vote on Proposal 2, the so-called "Michigan Civil Rights Initiative," sponsored by the father of Proposition 209, Sacramento businessman Ward Connerly. Like California's Proposition 209, the Michigan ballot initiative would eliminate affirmative action from public education, contracting, and employment. Since the passage of 209 in 1996, the levels of underrepresented minority students in California's public institutions of higher education have fallen sharply, with the steepest drops at UCLA and Berkeley. This fall, UCLA has just 96 black freshmen out of a class of more than 4,700, a 30-year low. |
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Supreme
Court to Revisit Brown v. Board of Education
In
the second term of the Roberts Court, the United States Supreme
Court will review two voluntary school integration plans that
have far-reaching implications for the future of the nation's
schools. "Although the cases originate in two different regions
of the country, Seattle, Washington and Louisville, Kentucky,
they share a common issue," explained EJS President Eva Paterson.
"In both cases, the U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to
applaud or vilify school districts for taking steps to ensure
that our children are not educated in racial isolation. School
districts must be free to follow in the learned footprints of
Brown v. Board of Education towards equalized learning opportunities
for all students within their districts," she added. |
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EJS and CTA Travel Country Sharing Strategies to Address Unconscious Bias in School Communities By Kimberly Thomas Rapp This summer, EJS and its partner, California Teachers Association (CTA), hit the road calling attention to the impact of unconscious bias on student learning. After completing the first phase of our pilot project in Davis, California with the Davis Joint Unified School District in the spring, news of this innovative project traveled quickly throughout California and across the country. Representatives from Washington, D.C., Texas, Georgia, Colorado and Virginia are enthusiastic about bringing strategies to address the negative impact of subconscious bias to their public school communities. |
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U.N.
Committee Criticizes Continuing Discrimination in the U.S. Last fall, EJS began working with a coalition of more than 140 U.S. social justice groups in an effort to focus international attention on human rights violations in the United States. EJS focused on race discrimination and the impact of the intent doctrine on civil rights litigation, and other groups dealt with issues ranging from voting rights to environmental racism and the death penalty. |
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New Voting Rights Act Already Under Attack
On July 27, President Bush signed the Voting Rights Act (VRA) Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006 into law, extending the VRA for another 25 years. The 15th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution ensures the rights of all citizens, regardless of race, to vote; however, this was not practiced in reality until the passing of the original VRA in 1965. The reauthorization of the VRA recognizes that 40 years has not been a sufficient amount of time to eliminate voter discrimination. |
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A First Look at the Roberts Court By Melyssa Mendoza The Supreme Court underwent many changes in the October 2005 term. John Roberts became the new Chief Justice, and Samuel Alito replaced Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Justice. How have Roberts and Alito affected the Court so far? |
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Affirming Latina/o Realities in California: Hastings Symposium Tackles Tough Issues By Melyssa Mendoza UC Hastings' La Raza Law Students Association hosted its first annual symposium, "Affirming Latina/o Realties in California" on October 19 at the Hiram Johnson State Building in San Francisco. Symposium Co-Chair Xochtil Marquez said the event was intended to "build communities under the umbrella of empowerment, especially in consideration of the important issues that will be decided in the November election." |
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| Ford,
Rosenberg Foundations and Irmas Fellowship Support EJS Efforts to
Balance Racial Justice Debate
By Miguel Gavaldón and Shannon Seibert In a virulent response to the successes of the Civil Rights Movement, the extreme Right has made a conscious effort to reframe the debate over race in the United States. Not only have they largely defined which issues to present, they have also carefully crafted the language used to frame those issues. Today, in an effort to "put race back on the table" with voices of people of color and those who are committed to furthering, rather than eroding, civil rights, EJS seeks to analyze the methods employed by the Right to misconstrue the American public's understanding and perception of race. Our soon to be published Katrina Media Scan, produced by EJS Irmas Fellow Shannon Seibert, will be a useful tool for all racial justice activists who want to use media advocacy in their work. |
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| Farewell
from our Irmas Law and Communications Fellow
It seems it was only yesterday I began working with the Equal Justice Society as the Irmas Fellow for Law & Communications, yet more than a year has passed. Looking back, I am astounded anew by all that I've experienced and learned during my time with EJS. I began working at the Equal Justice Society in September, just days after Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing crisis that devastated the Gulf Coast. I encountered an office bristling with activity, driven by a sense of outrage over the injustice the Katrina victims were being forced to endure. By the end of my first week, I was immersed in legal research and strategizing sessions with advocates from across the nation under the leadership of EJS President Eva Paterson. |
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Staff/Board News & Notes Read
more about our staff changes, and honors and recognitions bestowed
on EJS board members. |
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From
Eva Paterson
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The Equal Justice Society (www.equaljusticesociety.org) is a national advocacy organization strategically advancing social and racial justice through law and public policy, communications and the arts, and alliance building. Serving as guiding principles for its programmatic goals, we contend that a) the United States has not achieved racial equity; and b) government and other institutions must actively intervene in order to advance racial justice. Equal Justice Society, 220 Sansome St, 14th Flr, San Francisco, CA 94104, Ph (415) 288-8700 |