SOCIAL JUSTICE BLOG
Read and share extraordinary stories from the frontlines of social change
It’s Not the Numbers, It’s the People
As I prepare to turn over the reins of the Impact Fund to Lindsay, I cannot help but reflect on some of the turning points in the organization’s history and some important people who have made the organization what it is. I write to highlight just a few of those moments and individuals, although I feel that I could fill a book with stories of the many talented people who are or have been part of our Impact Fund family over the past 30 years.
Class Action Advances the Welfare of 6,000 Foster Children in West Virginia
The West Virginia child welfare agency that was supposed to protect foster child, Jonathan, has failed. Last month, in a huge step forward, the case was certified as a class action, meaning that the case is now proceeding not only on behalf of Jonathan, but on behalf of all children in foster care in West Virginia. The children’s lawyers now have the opportunity to prove that children in the West Virginia foster care system are being subjected to an “unreasonable risk of harm,” which the state is constitutionally barred from inflicting on children.
Dakota Access Pipeline: Urgent Deadline to Stand Up for Environmental Justice
The Dakota Access Pipeline and the conflict over its controversial crossing of the Mississippi River is much further from the spotlight in 2023 as it was in 2016. Despite the lack of media attention, this issue is far from resolved – and a crucial deadline in the resolution process is rapidly approaching. On October 13, the environmental review public comment period will come to an end. Please consider writing to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers calling for further environmental safeguards or a complete stoppage of the Dakota Access Pipeline before that deadline.
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Whistleblower Law, Impact Litigation, and the Potential for Social Justice
Whistleblower law remains fairly limited in who it can help—protecting federal employees and employees of federal contractors or grantees. For most cases to qualify as whistleblower cases, the case must include some aspect of fraud and public funding. Therefore, if there happened to be wrongdoing by a company that was privately owned and received no public money or tax incentives, then it would be unlikely that the case could be brought under any of the whistleblower programs.
Impact Fund & Allies File Class Action Seeking Justice for LGBTQ+ Veterans
Discharge paperwork has significant long-term effects on the lives of veterans. A veteran’s DD-214 serves as their primary record of service. For these LGBTQ+ veterans, proving their military service – for instance, in applying to jobs or applying for veterans’ benefits – effectively amounts to “outing” their sexual orientation. Veterans who received discharges characterized as something other than “Honorable” are also barred from accessing many of the critical benefits available only to veterans with Honorable discharges. This includes healthcare through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, funding for higher education, home loan financing, job benefits, and more.
Critical Race Theory & Us: How does this impact us and why should we care?
Critical Race Theory highlights how the concept of race does not have a biological foundation, but instead, is a socially constructed idea that has been historically embedded into our institutions and culture. The theory challenges everyone – regardless of ethnic identity – to look at how their experiences with racism actively contribute to those systems. Many politicians, educators, and social theorists, have proposed that CRT possesses the connotation that to achieve social equity, blaming and even being ‘racist back’ to white people will assist us in getting there. As of April 2023, 18 states have banned the teaching of Critical Race Theory in K-12 education, and 17 others currently have a bill introduced to congress to ban/restrict.
Achieving Justice for Forced Labor Victims in Saipan
When I first met the plaintiffs, they were terrified of their employers, afraid to complain, and felt utterly disenfranchised. After learning of their legal rights, they protested in the streets of Saipan for their wages and told federal authorities that they would not return to China until they were paid. The mere act of bringing this forced labor case against very powerful, well-connected defendants is itself an act of incredible courage. And the plaintiffs’ willingness to persist with the litigation after returning to China—where they were harassed and threatened to drop or settle their claims—is further testament to their bravery.
Keeping Sewage Out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Following a successful enforcement action by California Coastkeeper Alliance, Sacramento County is now required to repair its outdated sewage system, which has caused multiple sewage overflows over recent years. The County has agreed to invest $100,000 annually toward eliminating sewage discharge through assessments and inspections, cleaning the sewage lines, and repairing or replacing lines that experience repeat stoppages.
Housing Not Handcuffs: Victory In Boise Continues to Resonate Nationally
As stories of our country’s failure to adequately address homelessness make national headlines, with incidents like the murder of Jordan Neely on the New York City subway, elected officials are trying to make Americans see things simply, like homelessness as a personal choice, rather than the result of systemic failures. They want to make it a crime to be homeless, with police arresting those who simply don't have a place to live. That's ridiculous, and bad for our whole community. Because no matter your race or background, people don't choose to be homeless, and arresting people experiencing homelessness isn't the answer. The groundbreaking Martin v. Boise case has pushed communities toward the right answer—making sure everyone has a place to call home –since it was decided at the 9thCircuit in 2018.
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.
Three Brave Content Moderators Take On Facebook On Behalf Of Thousands In Historic Class Action
Selena, Gabriel, and Erin represented a class of over 14,000 content moderators who were denied protection against severe psychological and other injuries resulting from viewing objectionable postings while working on behalf of Facebook through third-party agencies. The role and plight of content moderators is endemic across the social media landscape. All of us need to monitor and support them.
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.
California Racial Justice Act Could Be a Check on Racist Gang Injunctions
Gangs are commonly associated with organized crime and terror. However, young people typically join gangs to find community, not to commit violent crime. The concept of a gang has racial implication as well, due to historical discrimination of young Black and Brown men. When we think of white supremacist organizations that commit violent crime, they are usually called “groups,” a word with much less stigma surrounding it. Because of the negative and violent associations pushed by the media and government around gangs, the public fear of gang violence increased from the late 20th century to the early 21st century. In an attempt to curb gang violence and reduce fear surrounding gangs, local governments across the country have implemented gang injunctions.
Love in Activism
The May 24 mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas elementary school has shaken up the country, sparking intense debates where both sides of the political spectrum rose up in anger and fear. Whether it is anxiety about sending one’s kids to school or the panic of many who believe their second amendment rights will be taken away, there is a common thread of fear that underlies the country and political landscape.
Class Action Challenges San Diego's Criminalization of Homelessness
A lot is at stake in this case. Punitive approaches to sheltering in vehicles are reflective of the larger, nationwide policy shift toward criminalizing visible poverty in a harmful, expensive, and futile effort to police our way out of the growing homelessness crisis. When inherently innocent survival conduct, like sheltering, is treated as a punishable offense, the rights and freedoms of all human beings are threatened. It is critical to fight for protection of our freedoms in the courts.
Winning in Environmental Litigation: Outlast the Polluters to Defend the Environment
The PolyMet/Glencore copper-nickel sulfide mine is a dangerous project and a formidable adversary. This mine would be located in the headwaters of the St. Louis River, the largest U.S. tributary to Lake Superior, upstream of the Fond du Lac Reservation and Minnesota’s third largest city, Duluth. The PolyMet/Glencore mine would destroy more than 1,000 acres of wetlands¾the largest wetlands destruction ever approved in the history of our U.S. Army Corps region. The project would release sulfate and toxic metals into waters already impaired due to mercury, contaminating drinking water, decimating wild rice, and increasing toxic mercury contamination of fish. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Legislature has taken PolyMet’s side for more than a decade, sweeping away laws that would pose hurdles in permitting and spending millions in taxpayer funds for outside mining-industry lawyers to represent the agencies granting PolyMet permits.