In advance of World Gratitude Day, celebrated every Sept. 21, the Southern Poverty Law Center has compiled a list of advances that have been made in the battle against racial and social injustice. They compiled the list and sent it to their many supporters, of which the Viatorian Community is one.
The list includes:
1. Protecting voting rights
With 19 currently active cases, the SPLC’s voting rights team is working tirelessly to shut down a new wave of voter suppression laws targeting Black and Brown voters in the Deep South.
2. Eradicating poverty
This year, the SPLC expanded our fight to preserve historic Black communities and prevent development-led displacement. We also successfully intervened to stop the jailing of people who couldn’t pay their trash bills in Valley, Alabama.
3. Decarcerating Black and Brown people
Our Mississippi Advocacy Institute offers policy education seminars so people are able to navigate the system, know their rights and better advocate for themselves in the face of systemic discrimination. And, we’ve just won an important court order to remove children from Louisiana’s notorious Angola prison, an adult maximum-security facility.
4. Dismantling white supremacy
Tracking and exposing hate and extremist groups remains a top priority for the SPLC. Our reporting highlighted links between mainstream right-wing politicians and extremists at a recent Moms for Liberty summit.
5. Fighting back against hate
SPLC lawyers are currently litigating a case challenging Florida’s hateful “Don’t Say Gay” law, which silences LGBTQ+ students and has served as a blueprint for legislators seeking to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the South.