At the Center for Constitutional Rights, we have moved and continue to move in solidarity with gender-oppressed people targeted by institutions designed to reinforce, as bell hooks theorized, “white supremacist, imperialist, capitalist, (cis)heteropatriarchy.” Our vision of gender justice is wide-reaching and ultimately rooted in Black feminist organizing: we follow the lead of Black feminist cultural workers, organizers, and intellectuals because Black radical feminisms continue to offer to us a political vision of freedom that deliberately encompasses those of us on the margins of the margins.
This Women's History Month, we have chosen to intentionally reflect on the history of Black feminist resistance through the modals of political education, oral histories, writing, and archival work. The work of archiving is a necessary task as it reminds us of the strategies and expertise we already have at our disposal to fight for more abundant futures filled with self-determination. In honor of the rich legacy of litigation and advocacy alongside our movement partners against patriarchal violence, we have curated a resource list of our historical and current gender justice work centering the experiences and vision of Black cis/trans women, girls, non-binary, intersex, and transmasculine people.
Ongoing Cases
- Diamond v. Ward, et al.
- Mariah Lopez v. New York City Department of Homeless Services
- The Descendants Project v. St. John the Baptist Parish
- RISE St. James — The Fight to Protect Burial Sites of Enslaved People
- Black Love Resists in the Rust v. City of Buffalo
- Cameroonian Deportations FOIA Requests
Historical Cases
- State of North Carolina v. Joan Little
- Hamer v. Campbell
- Doe v. Constant
- Drew Municipal School District v. Andrews
- Douglas v. Holloman
- Doe v. Jindal/Caldwell — Crimes Against Nature by Solicitation (CANS) Litigation
- Crumsey v. Justice Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
- State of Missouri v. Michael L. Johnson (Amicus)
- Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Scott Lively
Advocacy & Institutional Statements
- Trans Day of Remembrance and Trans Day of Resilience: Beyond Awareness and Onward to Action
- Center for Constitutional Rights Pride 2021 Statement
- Human Rights Organizations Urge Members of Congress to Support Cameroonian Migrant Women
- Trans folks don’t just deserve to survive, they deserve to thrive: Trans Day of Remembrance and Trans Day of Resilience 2020
- Black August 2020 — Survived & Punished: The Criminalization of Black Survivors
- Fighting for the Safety, Health, and Dignity of Incarcerated Trans People in Georgia
- Human Rights Groups File Legal Petition on Sexual Violence Against Women and Girls in Camps for Displaced in Haiti
- CCR Calls on Hennepin County Attorney to Drop Charges Against CeCe McDonald
- Civil Rights Groups Letter to New York Legislative Leadership in Support of S02253/A00654 and S4981a/A6983a (Decrim NY)
- Submission to UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls
- Violence Against Women in the Medical Setting: An Examination of The U.S. Foster System
- Hearing on the Impact of Marijuana Policies on Child Welfare Before the Committees on Hospitals and General Welfare
- No Pride in Prejudice: LGBTQIA+ People’s Experiences with Employment Discrimination
Selected Episodes from The Activist Files Podcast
- Episode 15: Brick by brick — 50 years after Stonewall with Dean Spade and Chinyere Ezie
- Episode 24: How it would feel to be free — Southern resistance to race and gender oppression
- Episode 23: Liberation is Not Linear — Intersectional Organizing with Raquel Willis and Derecka Purnell
- Episode 36: Decriminalize Sex Work — Freedom Dreams of Black Trans Liberation
- Episode 38: Motherhood on Trial — Pregnant and incarcerated
- Episode 39: Abolition, Prisoner Support, and Trans Justice with the Free Ashley Diamond Campaign
- Episode 43: The Power of Art: Talking Disability Justice and Movements for Liberation
- Episode 48: We've Always Been Here: The Radical Spirit of Black Abolitionist Feminisms
Previous Events & Screenings
- Pride Is Protest: Celebrating a Legacy of Black Queer & Trans Resistance, Resilience, and Rebellion
- From Stonewall to Minneapolis: Fighting for Black, Queer, and Trans Liberation (and Winning!)
- "The Women of Cancer Alley" — A Freedom Flicks Screening
- Freedom Flicks Presents: Out in the Night
Blog Posts
- A Year Later: Still No Justice for Breonna Taylor
- Allegations of Forced Sterilization in ICE Detention Evoke a Long Legacy of Eugenics in the United States
- An evening of activism with Laverne Cox
- Questions to ask this Mother’s Day
- The harmful impacts of sex offender registries—and a CCR client who was removed