Feel Good Friday - Innocence Project

Tomorrow marks the anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination, a day that invites reflection on the ongoing fight for racial justice in America. The Innocence Project  is doing that work every single day.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in New York, the mission of the Innocence Project  is "to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone."

Attorneys Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld started the organization as a law clinic at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law after recognizing that if DNA technology could prove guilt, it could also prove innocence. It became an independent nonprofit in 2003 and has been at the forefront of criminal justice reform ever since.

The racial disparities in wrongful conviction cases are staggering. Nearly 70% of Innocence Project clients are people of color. Black innocent defendants spend 45% more time wrongfully imprisoned before exoneration than white defendants. Cases involving Black exonerees are 50% more likely to involve police misconduct, and intentionally suggestive witness identifications occur twice as frequently in cases involving Black and Latinx exonerees. These are not anomalies — they are patterns rooted in systemic bias.

The Innocence Project fights this injustice on multiple fronts. Their legal team takes on cases where DNA or other scientific evidence can establish innocence. Their policy work has led to the passage of more than 250 state and federal laws addressing issues like eyewitness identification reform, preservation of biological evidence, and compensation for exonerees. They also push to strengthen forensic science standards and limit the use of unreliable technologies like facial recognition in law enforcement. Since their founding, they have helped free or exonerate more than 250 people who collectively spent over 4,000 years behind bars for crimes they did not commit.

If you’d like to support the Innocence Project, there are many ways to do so. Volunteer your time, make a donation, and amplify their message on social media. Follow the Innocence Project on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and share their stories of justice and freedom with your network.

Feel Good Friday - Equal Justice Initiative

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a time to honor Dr. King's legacy of fighting for racial and economic justice through service and action. That makes this a perfect Friday to spotlight the Equal Justice Initiative.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Montgomery, Alabama, the mission of the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is "ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society."

EJI operates as a nonprofit law firm providing legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. Under founder and Executive Director Bryan Stevenson's leadership, EJI has secured relief, release, or reduced sentences for over 140 people on death row. Their work has resulted in landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings, including a 2012 decision that banned mandatory life-imprisonment-without-parole sentences for all children 17 or younger, a ruling that impacted thousands of cases nationwide.

Beyond the courtroom, EJI challenges the narrative about race in America through groundbreaking research and public education. In April 2018, they opened the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery—powerful spaces that trace the arc from slavery through lynching and segregation to mass incarceration. These Legacy Sites have attracted over 650,000 visitors from around the world. EJI also produces an award-winning wall calendar, A History of Racial Injustice, that features a different historical event each day.

Their anti-poverty work includes a Hunger Relief program that has served thousands of families struggling with food insecurity and a health clinic that provides free care to vulnerable people.

If you'd like to support the Equal Justice Initiative, there are many ways to do so. You can visit the Legacy Sites the next time you’re in Montgomery, Alabama, make a donation, and amplify their message on social media. Follow EJI on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or YouTube and share their stories of justice and redemption with your network.

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! 

Feel Good Friday - Akonadi Foundation

As the celebration for Black History Month continues, let’s learn about an organization working towards a racially just Oakland, Akonadi Foundation.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in Oakland, California, the mission of  Akonadi Foundation is “to support the development of powerful social change movements to eliminate structural racism.” They do this by investing in racial justice organizing and policy advocacy that will lead to enduring systems change. 

A majority of grants awarded by Akonadi Foundation are focused on ending the criminalization of Black youth and youth of color in Oakland and Alameda County. Currently, there are two funds the Foundation supports.

The So Love Can Win Fund provides general support grants of $10,000 to Oakland’s “organizers, storytellers, culture bearers, and healers who seek to ignite and implement a radical collective vision of freedom and racial justice.” In 2024, the Foundation awarded $500,000 to 49 initiatives and organizations. Examples of recipients include Arab Resource and Organizing Center, West Oakland Mural Project and the Lakeshore LGBTQ Cultural District.

The goal of the  All in for Oakland fund is to end the criminalization of Black youth and youth of color. Over the next five years, Akonadi Foundation will invest $12.5 million in partners who prioritize movement building and organizing, research, organizational capacity and policy advocacy.

Since they began, the Foundation has given over 1,900 grants totaling $43 million to nonprofit organizations that have centered power-building and organizing to fuel a racial justice movement. 

In addition to these funds, Akonadi Foundation runs a program called We Love Oakland which celebrates the vibrant and joyful culture, relationships, and activism that can be found in The Town. There are short videos you can watch where residents explain how Oakland’s history and culture inspires their work. You can also read letters from community leaders and post your own story of why you love Oakland.

If you’d like to see a community where young people of color have the support systems they need to thrive, spread the word about Akonadi Foundation. Read their blog, follow them on Facebook or Instagram, and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum

Happy Feel Good Friday! We’re profiling another great organization during Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum. 

Founded in 1996 by 157 women who recognized the need for an organization that would amplify AAPI women’s stories and experiences, The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF) is “the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian and Pacific Islander women and girls in the U.S.”

The mission of NAPAWF is “to build power with AAPI women and girls” and they do this by focusing on the following core issues: reproductive health and rights, economic justice, immigrant rights and racial justice.

 

Specific examples of work being done by NAPAWF include: fighting against sex-selective abortion bans which use racist stereotypes to put abortion care out of reach for AAPI women; working to break the “model minority” myth and address wage disparities among AAPI women; and advocating for laws to give immigrant families access to affordable healthcare.

 

There are 14 chapters across the United States with members engaging in policy and structural change, organizing and civic engagement, and legal advocacy and judicial strategy. NAPAWF recently launched a virtual speaker series that explores the way race and gender intersect to impact the lives of AAPI people, from activists to authors. The next event focuses on Asian American women in government and takes place on May 21^st.

 

If you’d like to support the work of NAPAWF there are many ways to do so! Become a member, buy and wear a t-shirt, make a donation, like their Facebook page and follow them on Twitter @NAPAWF.

Feel Good Friday - Black Lives Matter

People, it's Feel Good Friday and Black Lives Matter! 

As you've seen in the news, this week police in Wisconsin shot Jacob Blake in the back seven times. Although he survived, he's paralyzed from the waist down. As long as police keep shooting Black men and women, I'll keep profiling groups that support racial justice.

Previous blogs focused on groups that support Black lives such as Showing Up for Racial Justice, Color of Change, and the Movement for Black Lives. I realized, however, that I've never highlighted the official Black Lives Matter organization, so I'm doing that today.

Black Lives Matter was founded in 2013 by Black organizers, Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi, in response to the acquittal of Trayvon Martin's murderer, George Zimmerman. As they explain on the website, "Black Lives Matter began as a call to action in response to state-sanctioned violence and anti-Black racism. Our intention from the very beginning was to connect Black people from all over the world who have a shared desire for justice to act together in their communities."

Today the project is a member-led global network of more than 40 chapters across the US, UK and Canada. Their mission is to "eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes."

In addition to organizing direct actions, Black Lives Matter has a variety of resources, programs and social media campaigns. You can download a series of toolkits that address healing justice and direct action, conflict resolution in the chapters, and guidance for white people to #TalkAboutTravon and issues of racial justice. The Provocateurs is a series of videos featuring artists who create within a politically radical framework and #WhatMatters2020 is a campaign to bring BLM supporters and allies to the polls in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election. Watch a short video on that effort here. 

If you want to support the work of Black Lives Matter you can do that by making a donation, shopping for and wearing merchandise (including masks) and following their social media by liking their Facebook page and following them on Twitter @Blklivesmatter.

Feel Good Friday - Showing Up for Racial Justice

The reason I started writing these Feel Good Friday posts in 2012 was to focus on good work being done as a counter to all the negative events that dominate the news. Some weeks are harder than others to find the good, but I always do.

Given last weekend's white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, VA and the murder of Heather Heyer, I'm going encourage you to read my November post on the Southern Poverty Law Center to see what they're doing to combat hate groups. Next, let's talk about today's organization, Showing Up for Racial Justice.

As explained on their Facebook page, Showing up for Racial Justice (SURJ) "is a national network of groups and individuals organizing White people for racial justice. Through community organizing, mobilizing, and education, SURJ moves White people to act as part of a multi-racial majority for justice with passion and accountability."

Why the focus on whites? SURJ "believes in collective liberation -- and that none of us can be free until we end white supremacy. SURJ's role as part of a multi-racial movement is to undermine white support for white supremacy and to help build a racially just society."

In order to realize this goal, SURJ employs three core strategies:

• Delegitimize racist institutions
• Fight for a fair economy that refuses to pit communities against each other
• Shift culture (meaning the underlying beliefs folks have about people and the world) in a way that undermines support for white supremacy

These strategies are used when organizing community events and providing resources on topics such as direct action, fundraising, working with the media and facilitating meetings. There are chapters throughout the United States, including one in the San Francisco Bay Area, and if there isn't one near you - you can start a new chapter.

If you've been looking for a way to turn your anger into action, I recommend you attend a local event, volunteer your time or donate your money. You can also show your support on social media by liking the SURJ Facebook page and the SURJ Bay Area Facebook page. If you want to make a difference on Twitter, you can follow @ShowUp4RJ and @surjbayarea. It's time to show up.