no organization does more to end mass incarceration, combat injustice, or protect the humanity of society's most vulnerable than EJI.

protecting democracy and furthering justice

supporting nyc's most vulnerable through the best and the worst times

because, now more than ever, we must rely on digital freedom and the collective power of the internet

EJI is committed to ending mass incarceration in the US and challenging racial and economic injustice.

Founded in 1989 by Bryan Stevenson, a widely acclaimed public interest lawyer and bestselling author of Just Mercy, EJI is a private, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted, unfairly sentenced, or abused in state jails and prisons. We challenge the death penalty and excessive punishment and we provide re-entry assistance to formerly incarcerated people.

EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment. We are committed to changing the narrative about race in America. EJI produces groundbreaking reports, an award-winning wall calendar, and short films that explore our nation’s history of racial injustice, and we recently launched an ambitious national effort to create new spaces, markers, and memorials that address the legacy of slavery, lynching, and racial segregation, which shapes many issues today.

EJI provides research and recommendations to assist advocates and policymakers in the critically important work of criminal justice reform. We publish reports, discussion guides, and other educational materials, and our staff conduct educational tours and presentations for thousands of students, teachers, faith leaders, professional associations, community groups, and international visitors every year.

Equal Justice Initiative

Madison Square Park, a seven-acre urban oasis, is located in the heart of Manhattan’s Flatiron District at E. 23 Street between Madison and Fifth Avenue

Madison Square Park

We are a nonpartisan law and policy institute working to reform and defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice.


The Brennan Center for Justice is an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that works to reform, revitalize, and when necessary, defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice.   

Today, we are in a great fight for the future of constitutional democracy in the United States. We are committed to the rule of law. We work to craft and advance a transformative reform agenda — solutions that aim to make American democracy work for all.

The Brennan Center has built a distinct model to advance legal and policy change:

We’re a think tank, conducting rigorous research to identify problems and craft transformative solutions.
We’re an advocacy group, fighting in court and working with elected officials to advance legislation.
We’re a cutting-edge communications hub, shaping opinion by taking our message directly to the press and public.
At a time of massive demographic change and economic dislocation, public institutions urgently need reform and repair. Today, politics is polarized and often paralyzed. We see harsh assaults on communities of color and immigrants. The vital safeguards and checks and balances that underpin democracy are under attack.

We know this: The best response to an attack on democracy is to strengthen democracy.

That’s why we’ve pioneered innovative reforms:

Automatic voter registration has been enacted in 16 states.
We’ve championed small donor public financing, which would give ordinary Americans a much louder voice in political campaigns.
We’ve crafted ballot initiatives that ended partisan gerrymandering across the country.
We’ve helped transform the debate over mass incarceration through groundbreaking research that revealed that nearly 40 percent of the U.S. prison population is locked up unnecessarily. 
In all this, we take our cue from Abraham Lincoln’s admonition at another time of constitutional debate:

“Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed. Consequently, he who molds public sentiment goes deeper than he who enacts statutes or pronounces decisions. He makes statutes and decisions possible or impossible to be executed.”

Truly effective legal and policy change requires winning, first and foremost, in the court of public opinion.
 

Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law

The Vera Institute of Justice works to secure equal justice, end mass incarceration, and strengthen families and communities across America. Founded 1961.

The Vera Institute of Justice combines expertise in research, demonstration projects, and technical assistance to help leaders in government and civil society improve the systems people rely on for justice and safety.

Vera Institute of Justice

City Harvest, a non-profit organization founded in 1982, is the world's first food rescue program.

From day one, City Harvest’s focus has been feeding hungry New Yorkers, neighbors helping neighbors.
City Harvest helped start the food rescue movement in 1982 when a group of New Yorkers saw that New York City had an abundance of excess food even while a large number of its residents struggled to feed themselves and their families. We recognized the practical purpose that this surplus food could serve if directed to New Yorkers who needed it, filling the plates of the working mom who had trouble making ends meet at month’s end, the senior in the apartment upstairs living on a fixed income, or the family around the corner coping with a large and unexpected medical bill.

Today, City Harvest is New York City’s largest food rescue organization, helping to feed the more than 1.5 million New Yorkers who are struggling to put meals on their tables. We will rescue 109 million pounds of food this year and deliver it, free of charge, to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and other community partners across the five boroughs. Our programs help food-insecure New Yorkers access nutritious food that fits their needs and desires; increase our partners’ capacity; and strengthen the local food system, building a path to a food-secure future for all New Yorkers.


City Harvest

The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund @BKBailFund - Fighting for an end to cash bail.

Brooklyn Community Bail Fund

We defend your civil liberties in a digital world.

The first line of defense when your rights in the digital world come under attack. EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. We work to ensure that rights and freedoms are enhanced and protected as our use of technology grows.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

Provides legal advocacy for refugees and displaced people in need of a safe place to call home.

IRAP’s innovative model of mobilizing legal resources to advocate for refugees and displaced people saves lives, assures safe passage to destination countries, and shapes thought and practice in the United States and around the globe to ensure fair and humane treatment of these vulnerable individuals.

IRAP’s approach is grounded in three distinct but interrelated strategies: 

1. IRAP has created a “virtual public interest law firm”—a firm that is not impeded by geographic boundaries and uses technological solutions to deliver free high-quality representation to people living in, and fleeing from, war, persecution, and political upheaval around the world. We have trained an army of volunteers—1,200 students from 30 law schools in the United States and Canada and pro bono attorneys from over 120 international law firms and multinational corporations—to assist thousands of refugees and displaced people on urgent registration, protection, and resettlement cases.

2. Through impact litigation and systemic advocacy, IRAP is bringing legal challenges to refugee rights violations in the courts, creating solutions to overcoming the legal and bureaucratic impediments in the resettlement process, and developing an enforceable system of legal and procedural rights for refugees and displaced persons worldwide. Working directly with our clients as they navigate the labyrinthine processes, IRAP is often able to identify obstacles of which other institutional players are unaware. Our unique model utilizes lessons learned in individual casework to advocate for systemic changes that benefit broader refugee populations.

3. Finally, a crucial prong of IRAP’s approach is to train the next generation of international human rights advocates. These advocates are essential to ensuring fairness, decency, and adherence to the rule of law throughout the refugee resettlement process.

International Refugee Assistance Project: IRAP

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