About Us | MISSION
The Mississippi Center for Justice (MCJ) was established in June 2002 as a nonprofit, public interest law firm committed to advancing racial and economic justice. Its founding responded to an urgent need to re-establish in-state advocacy on behalf of low-income people and communities of color. Supported and staffed by civil rights advocates, attorneys, social service advocates and others, MCJ is committed to developing and pursuing strategies that combat discrimination and poverty in Mississippi.
Since its beginnings, MCJ has advanced social justice in Mississippi by:
Increased Organizational Effectiveness• preventing 65,000 poor and disabled Mississippians (PLADS)from losing healthcare;
• dismantling a Jim Crow-era school board election system in the Mississippi Delta;
• ending the torture of juveniles in the state’s training schools, successfully fighting for their right to counsel, and helping pass sweeping juvenile justice reform;
• attacking predatory lending practices in the migrant poultry worker community;
• preventing the funneling of children from the schoolhouse to the jailhouse by teaching grassroots community organizers and defense attorneys to navigate the state’s convoluted juvenile justice system; and
• facilitating development of a comprehensive strategy to eliminate poverty by economic justice advocates from across the Deep South.
Social justice movements arise and respond to an ongoing community presence. Through MCJ, national and regional organizations can decrease their response time, strengthen community partnerships, and avoid the “carpetbagger syndrome” by partnering with organizations with a physical presence in Mississippi.
Word-of-mouth referrals, media coverage, the expansion of work throughout the state the need for similar programs have increased demand for MCJ’s legal support. Other advocacy organizations, such as the MS Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities, the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, the Mississippi Education Working Group, Citizens for Quality Education, and Southern Echo have turned to MCJ for legal expertise and research.
The Mississippi Center for Justice is committed to brokering these partnerships and keeping them effective. Additional regional and national support allows MCJ to broker partnerships, keep them effective and respond more effectively to requests for assistance. >>>