RESISTANCE REVIVAL & RESURGENCE
While the journey to freedom is not linear, the commitment to improve the material conditions of our people is constant work. This past year, we at Forward Justice stood together with communities across the South to contest the status quo by fighting back against oppression and injustice at the hands of elected officials and other system actors. For us, 2023 ushered in a spirit of resistance, revival, and resurgence.
This report covers Forward Justice’s campaigns and work over the past year, which included advocating for voting rights restoration and expansion; fighting for the eradication of barriers to re-entry; demanding equal access to basic human rights like jobs with living wages, healthcare, and housing; and reimagining community safety.
In 2023, despite incessant state-sanctioned attempts to restrict our freedoms and destroy our democracy, we moved forward in our advocacy. Our legal team gave historic arguments in front of the North Carolina Supreme Court to protect the voting rights of over 56,000 North Carolinians with prior felony convictions. Nationally, we actively expanded the practice of movement lawyering as we proudly served as legal counsel for community groups in the ongoing water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi. Through this resistance, Forward Justice and our movement partners centered the leadership of those who are directly impacted and together we pursued justice for all.
Over the last year, along with movement partners, we moved forward in building people power throughout the state of North Carolina and beyond. We recommitted ourselves to building a fusion movement in North Carolina, educated the public on the criminalization of poverty through court costs and its impact on vulnerable communities, and expanded our efforts in implementing policies that end discriminatory police stops.
In 2023, there was a resurgence of reclaiming our voices as we moved forward in our narrative change and policy work. Our team gathered over 800 people at the state legislature to demand changes in policies impacting people with criminal records, supported the reintroduction of the third reconstruction resolution, and countered harmful narratives by utilizing storytelling as a tool of resistance and radicalization. As there has been a concerted effort to misrepresent the experiences of Black, brown and poor people who are directly impacted by interlocking injustices, our work centers the stories and humanity of those voices targeted by laws meant to silence them. It is our hope that through the launch of our social justice journal and monthly political education series, we embolden and raise up communities who are dedicated to fight for the freedom of our people.
Challenging power is not easy, but it is necessary to cultivate the future we all deserve. Through it all, our goal is consistent: to create new systems and policies grounded in equity, restoration, love, and collective care to build a world where we all, including society’s most vulnerable, have an equal opportunity to thrive. This sacred task cannot be achieved by one of us, it requires all of us. In 2024, our hope is that more people will join us, our movement partners and allies, as we continue this powerful, collective work to Change the South, Change the Nation.
SINCE ITS INCEPTION, FORWARD JUSTICE HAS WORKED TO RESIST SYSTEMS, POLICIES, AND PRACTICES THAT UPHOLD MASS INCARCERATION, WHITE SUPREMACY, VOTER SUPPRESSION AND OTHER FORMS OF OPPRESSION IN THE SOUTH, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON NORTH CAROLINA.
THESE ARE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE’VE CONTINUED OUR POWERFUL RESISTANCE THIS YEAR
This year, our state saw the first elections that required a photo voter ID, making it harder for Black, brown, and poor people to access their constitutional right to vote. As we approach the 2024 general election, Forward Justice is lead counsel in the only remaining litigation in North Carolina challenging the discriminatory Photo Voter ID law (SB824), as well as the only remaining litigation challenging the Constitutional amendment requiring photo voter ID.
SB824 Challenge (NAACP NC v. Hirsch):
On November 21, 2023, a hearing was held to set a trial date. On May 6th, 2024, the trial for this case will begin, allowing us to provide the court with a full and current evidentiary record regarding how the law impacted voters in the 2023 municipal elections while still enabling the court to make a full decision and provide relief before the 2024 general election.
In 2022, the NC Supreme Court ruled that racially gerrymandered legislatures do not have unlimited authority to change North Carolina’s constitution, and sent this case back to the trial court for additional factfinding. On August 2, 2023, the trial court transferred this matter to a three-judge panel; and a panel of judges was assigned to this case on December 1, 2023.
We stand ready with the full weight of evidence, and with the will of the people behind us, to defend our constitutional right and ensure that Black, Brown and poor people are not continuously boxed out of our democratic process.
Deborah Dicks Maxwelll PRESIDENT NAACP NC
We started 2023 with a historic victory that expanded voting rights in North Carolina to include over 56,000 people with prior felony convictions. On February 1, 2023, our legal team argued in front of a newly elected, highly polarized, and partisan NC Supreme Court to defend that victory. Dozens of community members, advocates, and partners packed the courtroom in support.
Unfortunately, the new court overturned our previous ruling, stripping voting rights away from thousands, but our community had won an unprecedented 276 days of equal access to the ballot, from April 2022 through February 2023. During that time, 33% of the community members we contacted about their new voting eligibility registered to vote- showing the strength and power of legal advocacy and community organizing and the desire that second-chance voters have to participate in their democracy.
56,000+ 276
EXPANDED VOTING RIGHTS
DAYS OF EQUAL ACCESS TO BALLOT
33%
REGISTERED TO VOTE
With felony disenfranchisement, photo voter ID, and gerrymandered maps being weaponized against North Carolina voters, Forward Justice continued our fight to protect voting rights in our state. In addition to our active litigation, we led and co-anchored a statewide election protection table aimed at addressing voter intimidation and hosted a voter protection clearinghouse campaign that operated as a strategy center dedicated to ensuring the right to vote is protected. As a part of this clearinghouse, we ran two direct, nonpartisan voter protection hotlines, worked to address misinformation and disinformation, combat racist voter intimidation, manage poll presence, and provide strategic support to partners in the event of a postelection crisis.
Our team fielded and responded to more than 60 instances of voter intimidation statewide in this single election, working a full-time hotline through the 17 days of early voting and on election day as well as monitoring the canvass.
This year, Forward Justice participated in the statewide redistricting hearings that took place regarding new voting maps for North Carolina elections. As a part of the Protect Our Vote NC Campaign, Forward Justice staff attended the hearings and engaged with community members on ways that we can leverage the issues and concerns that were raised as organizing opportunities in 2024. We joined a statewide coalition of organizations calling for greater transparency, respect and accessibility from our elected officials during the process and created videos that explained the redistricting process with ways for the community to get involved. We look forward to continuing this important type of advocacy work as we approach the 2024 election and beyond.
Forward Justice is proud to serve as legal counsel and movement advisor to brilliant and powerful partners on the ground in Jackson, Mississippi who are responding to the ongoing water crisis. On behalf of Jackson residents and our clients with People’s Advocacy Institute, the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign, and the Mississippi Rapid Response Coalition- Forward Justice, along with our co-counsel at the Center for Constitutional Rights and National Resources Defense Council, filed an Emergency Petition for Relief to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), seeking emergency action to address the “imminent and substantial endangerment present in Jackson’s drinking water system.” Forward Justice also submitted a community statement to the EPA with written concerns from community members and proposed solutions.
In October 2023, we filed an unopposed Motion to Intervene in the ongoing federal litigation for failure to comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) up until this time, has excluded community voices from any consent or settlement decree that will govern the future of water sovereignty in Jackson. We are committed to pursuing all creative avenues available to support the leadership of those most directly impacted by this ongoing crisis, ensuring that they have a seat and the table and their voices and experiences are heard.
This is about our health and safety, and these issues are too important to be decided without out participation
Forward Justice, alongside the West Virginia Poor People’s Campaign (WV PPC), the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, Repairers of the Breach, and the Kairos Center for Religion, Rights and Social Justice, submitted a request for the US Department of Justice (USDOJ) to launch an investigation into conditions in the Southern Regional Jail in Raleigh County, West Virginia. In addition to several deaths at the facility and deplorable conditions, people incarcerated there have reported physical abuse and a lack of access to water.
Alongside representatives from the WV PPC, we met with USDOJ officials about deaths in the Southern Regional
Jail, including the death of 37-year-old Quantez Burks. On December 4, 2023 five of the six Southern Regional Jail employees involved in Mr. Burks’ assault and death were finally indicted.
WE’VE HAD VICTORIES AND CHALLENGES IN THIS WORK, LEADING US INTO A PERIOD OF REVIVAL- WHERE WE LOOKED DEEPLY AT WHAT SUPPORT OUR MOVEMENT PARTNERS, ALLIES, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS NEEDED TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND WHOLE.
THESE ARE THE WAYS WE’RE WORKING TO POUR INTO OUR PEOPLE, WHILE WE WORK TO REVIVE OUR SYSTEMS AND POLICIES IN
In October, Forward Justice co-authored a report, along with the Center for Responsible Lending and the North Carolina Justice Center, on the harmful impact of converting criminal court costs into civil judgements. The report, “Waiving Criminal Court Fees Prevents Harms of Civil Debt”, found that the practice of converting these fines and fees to civil judgments has become increasingly common in the state, but very little of the civil debt is paid off, leaving many individuals subject to the judgments go deep into debt and experience harsh consequences that may last for decades. We look forward to using the report to inform the public and lawmakers on the harmful impacts of criminalizing poverty as as we advocate for solutions.
We held a highly successful full-staff retreat and revival in August 2023, our first in-person staff retreat since COVID-19. We gathered in Wilmington, NC, where we re-grounded ourselves in this state’s history and role in the fight for a just multi-racial democracy. We immersed ourselves in the lessons of the past while charting a path forward for the organization.
Forward Justice hosts the website NC CopWatch, which makes law enforcement stop, search, and use of force data publicly available to community members. We presented the database results to Mecklenburg County residents, highlighting the disparities impacting their community. This ultimately led to community advocacy and collaboration with the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), resulting in them agreeing to implement a policy that ended regulatory stops in the county.
Due to the success of the policy implementation with MCSO, we are now in conversations with the Raleigh Police Advisory Board, the Raleigh City Council, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson and Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe to educate these bodies on the data and advocate for policy changes that result in less community interaction with the police.
Forward Justice and our partners at SpiritHouse Inc, both 501c3 organizations, have been approved for funding to create a Community Transformative Healing Justice Program that prioritizes caring and healing for underserved communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Launching in 2024, the primary goal of the
program will be to provide interdisciplinary, culturally rooted, comprehensive resources tailored to addressing the systemic harms, including public health harms, that consistently affect people living in underrepresented communities.
Ten years ago, seventeen North Carolinians walked into the NC General Assembly to bear witness to the immoral attacks on the most vulnerable residents of our state. Soon after, thousands came together at our legislature with a new vision for our state. The Moral Monday movement went on to see one of the largest direct action campaigns at a state legislature in US history, with over 1,000 people arrested while demanding North Carolina’s leaders do right by its people.
In April 2023, Forward Justice stood in community with Rev. William J Barber II, Repairers of the Breach, the NC Poor People’s Campaign, and several other movement partners in a rally in downtown Raleigh to serve as a recommitment to restoring and realizing the promises of our democracy. We’re excited to stand together with our partners again and continue building a People’s Moral Fusion Movement in North Carolina for the next decade.
Hold On, Be Strong was a multi-media art installation that explored artist Dave Alsobrooks’s characterizations of Southern Hip Hop, what it all means, and what it instilled in him and many others. A portion of the proceeds went directly to Forward Justice. Our team was thrilled to be a part of this event to share essential resources and information with the community and encourage them to become more involved in our work.
In November 2023, we released the inaugural edition of the Forward Star Journal, a Southern Social Justice Journal that we created to serve the heads, hearts, and minds of those on the front lines with us in the fight for full liberation. The themes and concepts we will explore in this journal will be in service of our collective liberation, validation, education, and healing. We hope that it will serve as a resource, rallying call, inspiration, and safe space as we chart a path ahead together towards radical resistance, transformative justice, and true freedom. Check out the first edition at Forwardjustice.org
This Fall, Forward Justice Launched ‘Fed Up Friday’ in Raleigh, NC, a monthly event series where community members and partners come together to discuss the policies and issues affecting our communities and begin organizing for change. The first topic of the series is public safety and police accountability- including sharing information on how to use our NC Copwatch Database and leverage the data in organizing efforts. We look forward to continuing this powerful work to collectively and radically reimagine public safety and policing in our communities.
DURING MOVEMENTS FOR ABOLITION AND CIVIL RIGHTS, PEOPLE WERE INSPIRED BY THE VISION OF THOSE MOST DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY GRUESOME INJUSTICESALLOWING A RESURGENCE OF THE FIGHT FOR THE PROMISE OF TRUE LIBERATION.
IN A TIME WHEN FREEDOMS AND RIGHTS ARE UNDER RELENTLESS ATTACK, THESE ARE THE WAYS WE’RE WORKING TO LEAD A RESURGENCE OF RESISTANCE.
On May 2nd, 2023, over 800 people gathered at the Legislative Building in Downtown Raleigh for the North Carolina Second Chance Alliance (NC SCA) Lobby Day. This event provided spaces for community members to advocate for policies that support successful reentry like SB 779, which would end the harmful use of mugshots, and HB 888, which would end debt-based driver’s license suspensions. These bills, among others, survived the crossover deadline. After Lobby Day, we held the first-ever NC SCA Gala where we came together for an evening to honor members’ contributions to the movement and celebrate our advocacy work.
In June 2023, the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival held a threeday Moral Poverty Action Congress (MPAC), where hundreds of directly impacted poor people, faith leaders, and advocates from over 30 states traveled to Washington DC to put the nation on notice that we will not be silent anymore as poverty kills 800 people every single day in this country.
Over three days, Forward Justice supported the Campaign with legal, marshaling, organizing, and policy work. The MPAC resulted in more than 400 meetings with congressional representatives in the U.S. Senate and House and the reintroduction of the Third Reconstruction Resolution the 118th Congress. More than 1,000 Poor People’s Campaign representatives were in attendance.
Forward Justice is a partner of Decarcerate Now NC, a group of advocates who urge the North Carolina Governor to use his executive power to help mitigate the harm of the criminal legal system, on mostly Black and Brown people, by granting clemency and pardons. This year, from November 20th - December 22nd, we gathered at the Executive Mansion to stand in vigil with the over 30,000 people currently incarcerated.
We also take this time to advocate for people like Michael Parker and Glen Chapman, who were exonerated over ten years ago and have been waiting for pardons of innocence; to remember the lives of movement leaders we've lost; and call for Clemency for those like Charles McNair and others who have been wrongfully convicted.
In August of 2023, Forward Justice communications staff provided training on the importance of narrative and language to this year's cohort of the Urban Institute’s Catalyst Grant recipients. Our team shared guidance and best practices on using language to describe directly impacted people, ethical storytelling practices, and the ways that we can use storytelling to influence laws, policy and practice.
In December, we held our 2023 Forward Justice Gala at the Rickhouse in Durham, NC. This year’s theme was Resistance, Revival, Resurgence- as we celebrated our victories in the fight for justice and grounded ourselves in the work that lies ahead. Attendees enjoyed a live jazz band and DJ, keynote address from Dr. Elizabeth Hinton of Yale University, silent auction, photo booth and more. We were thrilled to spend a beautiful, unforgettable evening with partners, funders, and community members during the sold out event.
In 2024, over 25,000 people with past felony convictions will complete their probation, parole and post-release supervision, making them eligible to vote. Forward Justice alongside our partners, will engage in direct outreach for voter education and registration to build power and civic participation of newly eligible, justiceinvolved voters in time for the 2024 elections. Also in 2024, we will be going to trial in our
ongoing legal challenge to the discriminatory photo voter ID requirement in North Carolina.
We look forward to our day in court and will continue our statewide election protection table and clearinghouse work to ensure equitable access to our democracy.
Because 2023 marked a full decade without federal voting rights protections or a fully restored Voting Rights Act, the two cases Forward Justice are currently litigating against discriminatory photo voter ID will determine whether Black and Latino voters in North Carolina can vote on equal terms in the 2024 election and beyond.
We stand ready, with the total weight of evidence and the will of the people behind us, to continue vigorously pursuing our legal challenges alongside the NC NAACP to defend our constitutional right to vote; and, we will and continue to call for fully restored federal voting rights protections.
In 2024, Forward Justice and Spirithouse will offer a variety of educational and training opportunities, in a space that is safe, welcoming, and free from harm for underrepresented communities in Durham.
We will offer ongoing, rotating workshops and classes focused on healing through meditation, reflective yoga, and exercise; art as a medium for expression and healing; civic activism and involvement; Transformative Justice training; community healing retreats; trauma-informed art residency; cultural events, book studies, and more. Stay tuned to learn more about these interventions and programs in 2024.
Forward Justice and the Institute on Policing Incarceration and Public Safety (IPIPS), housed within the Hutchins Center for African American Research at Harvard University, have agreed to engage in an action research partnership. Forward Justice and IPIPS directors have met for two separate retreat sessions dedicated to developing and planning projects that interrogate the inextricable link between a multi-racial democracy and a fair and equitable criminal legal system.
FJ and IPIPS propose a 20252027 joint Executive Session with racial justice movement leaders, activists, and academics to address the obstacle that the modern criminal legal system – including policing, prisons, and immigration enforcement –is to democracy in the United States. Through that lens, the Executive Session will foster new conversations and analyses, new movement building, and new policy solutions to unlock a true multiracial democracy, particularly in the US South, where the criminal legal system has thwarted democratic citizenship most acutely.
We're excited about the impact we're having by the challenging harmful narratices and helping to ensure that the critically important issues we advocate for become a part of public awarness
Our work and impact have been covered in over 100 media articles from more than 65 different media outlets. Those articles have been seen by over 543 million unique viewers, and reached over 1.9 million people on social media through journalist shares.
Daryl Atkinson, Forward Justice Co-Founder and Co-Director and founding member of the NC Second Chance Alliance, was voted the winner of theGrio’s inaugural Hero award. Daryl was nominated alongside hundreds of other powerful changemakers from across the nation and was selected as one of the top ten to move to the semi-finalist round after two rounds of judging. The general public voted on each finalist, and Daryl was selected as the winner! As the winner, Daryl joined Marc Lamont Hill and Eboni K. Williams on theGrio cable network to discuss his work across the South with Forward Justice.
Forward Justice Co-founder and Deputy Director, Dr. Ashley Marshall, was selected as NCCU Alumni 40 under 40 honoree and awarded the navigating change fellowship by the Ford Foundation. Chosen by a committee of their peers, the inductees are all under 40 and have contributed to various fields, including education, social justice, law, healthcare, sciences, mass communication, public service, and real estate. The Forty Under Forty awards recognize the accomplishments of North Carolina Central University’s young alumni, who are the embodiment of ‘The Eagle Promise’.
Brittany Cheatham, Forward Justice Senior Communications Manager, received the 2023 Opportunity Agenda Fellowship and was honored for her contributions to their Narrative Innovation Lab cohort. This work led to the development of new cultural and narrative interventions for Forward Justice, including the Forward Star Journal.
Damola Akintunde, Forward Justice Visual Innovation and Brand Manager, who is also a freelance photographer, contributed to the Jan/Feb print issue of Essence Magazine. The images of Rev. Nelson Johnson and Joyce Johnson of the Greensboro, NC Beloved Community Center were featured alongside their story, Love and Activism, written by Dominique Fluker.
We’re Growing! This year, we have successfully hired 8 new positions, bringing in incredible talent to our growing team:
Gaynelle Little
EXECUTIVE AND SPECIAL ASSISTANT
Kristie Puckett
SENIOR SPECIAL PROJECT MANAGER
Jasmina Nogo
SENIOR PARALEGAL
Clarissa Greene
FINANCE AND OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE
Isaiah Withers
SENIOR COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
Carolyn Winder
SENIOR FINANCE MANAGER, Ashanti Scott
SOCIAL AND DIGITAL MEDIA ASSOCIATE
Jason Hicks
ORGANIZER AND PROJECT ASSOCIATE
Ford Foundation
Skyline Foundation
The Just Fund
Galaxy Gives
Democracy for All Fund
Z Smith Reynolds
HIGH LEVEL SPONSORS FROM GALA
Clean Slate Initiative
Flow Strategy
Mechanics & Farmers Bank
V.O.T.E
Florida Restoration Coalition
Racial Equity Institute
INDIVIDUAL GIVERS
Jeffery Garland
Frank Baumgartner
James Hester
Alexis Rile
Gerrish Milliken
Spending Overview
80 %
10 % PROGRAM SUPPORT
MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
10 %
FUNDRAISING SUPPORT
As Forward Justice continues to grow, we’ve gained tremendous support from those who align with our vision of a free, equitable South. We want to take this moment to thank those who strengthen our capacity to continue to do the transformative and historical work in the region, so that one day our movement will Change the South, Change the Nation. Without your support, none of this is possible. We look forward to the journey that lies ahead for us all.
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