Rep. Grijalva visits The Descendants Project and Cancer Alley 

The Descendants Project hosted Rep. Raul Grijalva (AZ) for a series of events over the weekend to spotlight environmental injustice in Cancer Alley, including the proposed Wallace grain elevator. The two-day visit was part of a community-input process for the Environmental Justice For All Act, which Rep. Grijalva has introduced in the House.  

He was joined by Rep. Troy Carter (LA) for a press conference, a tour through St. James and St. John parishes, and, on Sunday to commemorate Juneteenth, a land blessing at the site of the grain elevator. The ceremony will honor the enslaved people buried on the land.

EVENT! “Quo vadis? The prosecution of atrocity crimes from Myanmar to Ukraine” 

In the 20 years since the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) entered into force on July 1 2002, conflicts around the world have proliferated, the scale of atrocity crimes has grown, and impunity for these crimes persists. Conflicts in Myanmar (Burma), Ethiopia, Syria, Yemen, and, most recently, Ukraine have prompted renewed discussions on the effectiveness of the international criminal justice system to deter atrocity crimes and hold perpetrators to account.

Several proposals have been put forward to increase the deterrent effect of justice, including the creation of new tribunals, the reform of the United Nations (UN) system and the Rome Statute, and the codification of new crimes. This event will take place on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. and will discuss the role of international tribunals, the UN, and domestic prosecutions, as well as norms and principles, such as the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), in deterring and prosecuting atrocity crimes. The panelists will also examine how lessons learned can inform accountability initiatives related to ongoing atrocity crimes.

Register on our website.

Join us virtually or in person July 14–16 in St. Louis for the Law for Black Lives Conference 

We’re inviting you to join lawyers, legal workers and organizers from across the globe at the second Law for Black Lives Conference. We are living in a time of crisis and urgency. The continuing pandemic has exposed the failures and racial disparities of our public health system. Every day countless people are being evicted from their homes. The police are still killing Black people at alarming rates. Climate crisis after climate crisis is devastating our communities.

It is easy to feel helpless and alone. It is hard to know how to make a difference. Now more than ever we need the time and space to assess where we have been and start boldly planning for the future.

Join us, online or in person, on July 14^th-16^th in St. Louis for the second Law for Black Lives conference. Lawyering for Liberation: Defending Black Lives, Building Black Power will be a continuation of our groundbreaking 2016 Conference, where thousands of lawyers and organizers came together to dream and scheme.

We will spend two days collectively assessing the moment we are in, distilling important lessons for our work, building legal skills, developing our political analysis, and learning about innovative and bold campaigns and legal strategies from across the globe. On our last day together, participants will have the opportunity to be part of a legal hackathon where they will support community organizations with real time strategic questions they are facing about their work.  

Most importantly, Lawyering for Liberation will be a much overdue opportunity to expand and strengthen our networks. The silos we have been working inside of have made us less impactful and effective. They have also left many of us burnt out and cynical. Now is the time to build relationships that can sustain us.

To learn more about the conference and its offerings follow us @law4liberation. Register on our website at www.lawyeringforliberation.org.

See you in St. Louis!

Give today, and double the impact of your gift! 

Thanks to our dear friend Katherine Franke, all new and increased gifts to the MICHAEL RATNER CAMPAIGN FOR THE NEXT GENERATION will be matched. Give today and deepen our capacity as the go-to partner of social justice movements, enable us to spend more time on the ground with our partners, and allow us to recruit, mentor, and train young movement lawyers and advocates!

Visit Michael Ratner Campaign for the Next Generation page on our website and donate today.