SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Read and share extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change
Impact Fund Sets New Grantmaking Record In Support Of Communities Seeking Justice
In our summer grantmaking cycle, we granted $203,650 to support nine impact cases brought by communities confronting injustice. This is the highest amount we have ever granted in one quarter, and an exciting end to our largest grantmaking year so far, with a total of $690,150 granted to support 27 communities across the U.S. and Canada seeking their day in court.
Our new grantees this quarter are doing amazing work on behalf of LGBTQ+ students, immigrants, Indigenous people, people with disabilities, unhoused people, and incarcerated people. We are so grateful that we can help support these important cases. Here are the inspiring stories behind them.
Class Action Brings Relief To Black Students Unfairly Targeted For Suspension
A 2018 study by San Diego State and UCLA researchers confirmed Sacramento's record of suspending Black students more frequently. In response, we decided to organize a Parent Listening Session to understand how our Black families were coping with the issues identified in the report. I didn't expect much turnout on a Saturday morning and attended out of mere curiosity. One by one, parents shared their harrowing experiences. The stories were powerful and deeply moving. By the end of the session, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The neglect and mistreatment these families endured at the hands of the district was heart-wrenching. The idea of a lawsuit, which had been lingering in our minds, became a definitive decision by the end of the meeting.
Impact Fund Grantees Combat Injustice & Score Major Victories in 2023
As we approach the end of 2023, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our grantees’ incredible accomplishments. This year, Impact Fund grantees achieved meaningful change for a wide range of communities experiencing injustice, including incarcerated people, racial justice protesters, mobile home residents, unhoused people, and more. We were honored to help support these cases, which demonstrate how impact litigation can be an effective tool to hold powerful entities accountable.
Rather Than Sitting Silently, These Heroes Raised Their Voices To Fight For Better Health Care In West Virginia Jails
John, Earl, Joshua, Heather, and Donna all experienced significant barriers when trying to access the medical or mental health treatment they required while incarcerated in West Virginia’s regional jails. Rather than sitting silently and enduring this poor medical care, they raised their voices to fight for better care for themselves and everyone in the jails. Their words, like their commitment in this case, reflect the passion they have brought to this work from day one.
Class Action Heroes Take Courageous Stand For Economic Justice and Human Rights
Against the backdrop of a national public health and economic crisis, Congress passed the CARES Act, providing a stimulus payment of up to $1,200 for eligible individuals. Despite the clear statutory language, and the fact that incarcerated people disproportionately come from communities suffering from the greatest levels of poverty, the IRS invented an additional restriction excluding any incarcerated person from eligibility notwithstanding the predictable dire impacts on incarcerated people and their families. Plaintiffs Colin Scholl and Lisa Strawn courageously came forward to challenge those restrictions in a lawsuit resulting in one of the largest recoveries for an intentionally excluded economic class.
Google Employees Champion Equal Pay, Challenge Gender-Based Discrimination On Behalf Of 17,000 Class Members
Kelly, Heidi, Holly, and Kelli championed the claims of approximately 17,000 class members alleging that Google was paying women less than men performing substantially similar work and assigning women to lower salary levels than men with similar qualifications and experience. All four named plaintiffs took the risk that they would be blackballed in the tech field by putting their names on the publicly filed docket.
Hunger Relief Heroes Ensure Most Vulnerable Households Receive Critical Food Benefits
Despite overwhelming bipartisan support for Emergency Allotments, the USDA and the Trump Administration were thwarting the intent of the COVID relief passed by Congress. They were playing politics with people’s hunger. That is why I decided to take a stand and together with my co-plaintiff Robin Hall sue the USDA to make Emergency Allotments available for everyone. As the fight to protect the safety net programs like SNAP ramps up, it should give us all hope that the Western Center on Law & Poverty and the Impact Fund are working to make sure that programs stay fair, just and equitable.
A Beginner’s Guide to Forced Arbitration: A Barrier to Social and Economic Justice
Concealed in the fine print of many standard-form contracts, arbitration clauses force workers and consumers to give up their right to sue a company in court. Most forced arbitration agreements also contain class action waivers, which ban people from bringing and joining class action lawsuits against companies. People who are subject to forced arbitration agreements are instead required to resolve disputes with companies through private, individual arbitration. Meaningfully addressing and remedying social and economic injustice requires an end to forced arbitration.
Receiving Medical and Mental Healthcare on the Inside
No one expects going to jail to be pleasant. In West Virginia, however, going to jail can be more than just an unpleasant experience, due in part to a major function of jails that many people who have never been to one may not consider: healthcare. Many people who end up in jails, particularly in West Virginia, aren’t only struggling with these types of conditions but may (also) be dealing with serious addiction or mental health issues. People enter jails in need of high quality medical and mental healthcare, provided in a timely and professional manner. What many people have received in West Virginia jails in recent years, however, is anything but that.
Failed Birth Control Device: Thousands Seek Justice
Anna Jennings, mother of two, was promised that the Essure birth control device was a safe, quick, and easy option for family planning. Sadly, it turned out to be anything but. Thousands of women are now suffering from severe side effects and complications they allege were caused by Essure. These include allergic reactions (to the nickel contained in the Essure coil), chronic pain, excessive bleeding, miscarriage, and ectopic pregnancy.