Action

SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTION

Social Justice Summer participants are invited to plan one social justice action to take place during the summer or fall. We have chosen as our areas of focus, Criminal Justice Reform, Immigration Reform, Voting Rights, and Economic Inequality. Visit our Areas of Focus page for more information on each of these issue areas.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

(Click here to visit our fact page on this issue.)

• Educate yourself and your community.
  • Hold a public education event using videos, such as Broken on all Sides, The House I Live in, Redemption of the Prosecutor, or Solitary Confinement.
  • Raise awareness of juvenile justice reform efforts by the Equal Justice Initiative and the Children’s Defense Fund, including their campaign to end the Cradle to Prison Pipeline.
• Contact representatives to urge them to support legislation to end mass incarceration.
• Pay attention to local District Attorney elections and candidates who support criminal justice reform.
• Get your congregation inside the prison walls to meet those affected by the criminal justice system.
  • Volunteer at a federal prison through Prisoner and Visitation Support.
  • Participate in Alternatives to Violence programs in prisons.
• Write regularly to an incarcerated person. Pen pals can be a vital link for incarcerated persons.
  • Write a Prisonerhas listings of incarcerated persons throughout the country seeking pen pals.
  • Human Rights Pen Palsconnects community members with people in long term isolation.
• Provide support to prisoners’ families and people returning from prison. As a mentor to the child of a person living in prison or a helper to someone reentering your community from prison, you could
  • Meet for a weekly or monthly meal
  • Provide transportation to school or work or assist with school applications or a job search

IMMIGRATION REFORM

(Click here to visit our fact page on this issue.)

• Familiarize yourselves with the immigration rights organizations in your area and build relationships through shared meals, event participation, offering assistance, and by volunteering in areas of need. Just Neighbors, one of our partners, is doing wonderful work in northern Virginia, as are other organizations throughout the country.
• Advocate for legislation that upholds the civil and human rights of all migrants in the United States and will provide an opportunity to attain legal status for undocumented immigrants
• Host an immigration HOT TOPICS (Immigration 101, Know Your Rights) event at your church to learn the facts about immigration. Invite local immigration resources to 
share immigrant issues in your area
• Call the U.S. government to enact fair and comprehensive immigration reform and to immediately cease arrests, detainment, and deportations of undocumented immigrants, including children, solely based upon their immigration status.
• Host a gathering where participants share their immigration stories (include family affected, immigration activist, mental health professionals).
• Denounce and oppose the rise of xenophobic, racist, and violent reactions against migrants in the United States, and support all efforts to build relationships instead of walls among diverse ethnicities and cultures
• Locate an immigration court nearby, witness the court proceedings, and have a discussion afterwards
• Work with civic and legal organizations to support migrant communities affected by harsh immigration laws and over-reaching national security measures
• Connect with your local Sanctuary Movement and participate in this historic Christian witness of providing sanctuary to those in need.
• Host a film screening, followed by a testimony of someone directly affected by the broken immigration system, and have a group discussion. Consider the documentaries listed below

VOTING RIGHTS AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT

(Click here to visit our fact page on this issue.)

• Familiarize yourself and others about voter ID laws in your area.
  Click here for an interactive map of voter ID laws by state.
  Click here for voter information, deadlines, and requirements by state.
• Organize voter registration drives in your community.
  Click here to sign up to receive a voter registration toolkit from Rock the Vote.
  Find out about online voter registration by state.
• On Election Day, arrange transportation for those who need help to get to the polls.
• Know your rights and beware of attempts of voter intimidation.
• Be informed about current issues related to voting rights, including voter suppression, redistricting, felony disenfranchisement, and other attempts to limit voter turnout.
• Familiarize yourself with the legal limitations for tax-exempt organizations.
  Voter education and registration must be nonpartisan in nature.