Civil Rights Corps (CRC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to challenging systemic injustice in the United States’ legal system, a system that is built on white supremacy and economic inequality.
We work to shift power to community-led movements, particularly those led by Black, Brown and poor people who are most affected by this legal system, so they can build sufficient power to create structural change.
We work with individuals accused and convicted of crimes, their families and communities, people currently or formerly incarcerated, activists, organizers, judges and government officials to challenge mass human caging, to create a legal system that promotes equality and freedom, and to dismantle white supremacy.
Civil Rights Corps engages in advocacy and public education and specializes in innovative, systemic civil rights litigation with the goal of re-sensitizing the legal system and our culture to the injustice and brutality that characterizes the contemporary U.S. legal system.
Our jails are full of people whose only crime is being poor.
We are fighting to stop this. We bring innovative legal challenges around the country. We provide grants and technical assistance to support grassroots local movements. We partner with policymakers and advocates to build support for an approach to public safety rooted in care, not punishment.
- Every night, there are more than 450,000 people awaiting trial in jail cells solely because they cannot afford to make a payment.
- The criminal legal system criminalizes poverty through fines and fees at every turn, extracting money from the poorest people in our society.
- Prosecutors, judges, sheriffs, and officials across the criminal legal system continue to engage in unchecked misconduct, which separates families and destroys communities.
Promoting a future where communities flourish
We work with Black, Brown, and low-income communities who are the primary target of the criminal system. We are working towards a future where there is less harm overall. When harm does occur, we envision a world where our normal response is to invest in people and communities. Stay connected to support our work towards equality and human freedom.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Ways to support our work
Our financial gifts support Civil Rights Corps and grassroots partners around the country.
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