Fairness for Prisoners' Families   Activist and Advocacy Organizations The following activist and advocacy organizations who offer activities and viewpoints of interest to those with loved ones in prison. The information below was submitted by each organization for inclusion here, or taken from its website or other literature. AID TO CHILDREN OF IMPRISONED MOTHERS, INC. (AIM) 1514 E. Cleveland Avenue, Suite 115 East Point, GA. 30344 (404)762-5433 (voice) (404)762-7664 (fax) Founder/Exec.Dir./CEO - Sandra Barnhill Contact Person - Temika Williams, Legal Advocate/Equal Justice Works Fellow Website: www.takingaim.net AIM's mission is to inspire hope in the children of imprisoned mothers by providing programs and services that lessen the impact of the mother's incarceration. AIM's services are holistic and intergenerational in nature and are offered to children, mothers and caregivers. For children who reside in either Fulton or DeKalb County, AIM has a weekly afterschool program where children receive one-on-one mentoring, help with their homework, computer training and participate in an enrichment curriculum designed to promote academic and personal development. Each summer AIM sponsors a summer camp that is open to children of imprisoned mothers through out Georgia. For mothers, AIM publishes two self-help manuals, Parenting from Prison and Jails and Justice. These manuals provide information on parental rights and responsibilities to assist mothers in navigating the legal system. AIM conducts legal seminars at the state prisons to prepare mothers to resume their parenting role upon release and facilitate their re-entry into the community. On a monthly basis, AIM transports children to prison to visit with their mothers. For caregivers, AIM provides a support network for caregivers to meet and share common concerns and interests. The agency also makes referrals for community resources and social services. On an annual basis, AIM honors caregivers with an appreciation luncheon for the loving care they give to their families. AMERICAN DISABLED FOR ATTENDANT PROGRAMS TODAY (ADAPT) ADAPT of Ga.: POB 15392 Atlanta GA 30333 Mark Johnson mark_johnson@shepherd.org  (404) 350-7490(voice) (404) 350-7341 (fax) email: adaptgazan@mindspring.com National Website: www.adapt.org Nationally ADAPT focuses on promoting services in the community instead of warehousing people with disabilities in institutions and nursing homes. Attendant services (help with things like eating, dressing, toileting, moving from wheelchair to bed, etc.) are the cornerstone to community based services for people with severe disabilities. ADAPT is working to get 25% of the Medicaid long term care funds redirected to pay for a national, mandated attendant services program. ADAPT has a long history of organizing in the disability community and using civil disobedience and similar non- violent direct action tactics to achieve its goals. In 1983, as a program of the Atlantis Community in Denver, ADAPT began its national campaign for lifts on buses and access to public transit for people with disabilities. ADAPT started as American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit. For seven years ADAPT blocked buses in cities across the US to demonstrate the need for access to public transit. Many went to jail for the right to ride. ADAPT played a major role in gaining passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, ADA, particularly in ADA's stringent requirements relating to accessible transit, and its being seen as a civil rights law. Passage of this bill has meant victory for ADAPT in our struggle for lifts on buses. Many of ADAPT's members have been locked away in nursing homes and institutions because of their need for attendant services. Many had to fight to get out, and were among the lucky few who were able to get enough support services to live in the community. Because of outdated attitudes toward people with disabilities which label us as "sick", our needs are seen as "medical" and a huge system of institutional facilities has developed to provide for these needs. This institutionalized industry which has developed continues to use up massive amounts of funds to maintain the status quo. ADAPT wants to reverse the bias so that community based attendant services are the common option, and nursing homes are reserved as a last resort. Attendant Services assist people with mental and/or physical disabilities in accomplishing activities of daily living. Services include, but are not limited to: bathing, dressing, feeding, toileting, transferring, mobility assistance, cooking, cleaning, laundering, cognitive assistance and monitoring. Health-related tasks which can be done by or delegated to an unlicensed person by a health professional (for example: dispensing medications, catheterization and tube feeding) are also considered attendant services. getting in and out of bed, helping with a check book or reminding someone to take a pill. Attendants work for a person with a disability, doing tasks that person can't do alone. THE AMERICAN FRIENDS SERVICE COMMITTEE, CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM (AFSC) 1501 Cherry Street Philadelphia, PA 19102 (215) 241-7130 (voice) (215) 241-7119 (fax) email: tmcclary@afsc.org mailto:afscinfo@afsc.org Website: www.afsc.org The national and local criminal justice programs of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) focuses on advocacy, education, policy development and organizing. AFSC publishes analysis and action reports (free to prisoners) including: The Fortress Economy; the Economic Role of the U.S. Prison System; and the Lessons of Marion: The Failure of a Maximum Security Prison. Please write for a complete list of publications and addresses of state programs. AFSC is a Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace, and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) belief in the worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice. Founded in 1917 to provide conscientious objectors with an opportunity to aid civilian victims during World War I, today the AFSC has programs that focus on issues related to economic justice, peace-building and demilitarization, social justice, and youth, in the United States, and in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and at the United Nations (Geneva and New York). The American Friends Service Committee is a practical expression of the faith of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Committed to the principles of nonviolence and justice, it seeks in its work and witness to draw on the transforming power of love, human and divine. AFSC recognizes that the leadings of the Spirit and the principles of truth found through Friends' experience and practice are not the exclusive possession of any group. Thus, the AFSC draws into its work people of many faiths and backgrounds who share the values that animate its life and who bring to it a rich variety of experiences and spiritual insights. This AFSC community works to transform conditions and relationships both in the world and in ourselves which threaten to overwhelm what is precious in human beings. The AFSC nurtures the faith that conflicts can be resolved nonviolently, that enmity can be transformed into friendship, strife into cooperation, poverty into well-being, and injustice into dignity and participation. The AFSC believes that ultimately goodness can prevail over evil, and oppression in all its many forms can give way. AIDS SURVIVAL PROJECT 159 Ralph McGill Blvd Suite 500 Atlanta, Georgia 30308 Toll Free: 1-877-AIDS-4444 (404) 874 7926 (voice) (404) 524 2462 (fax) (404) 524 0464 (TTY) email: mlhemphill@aidssurvivalproject.org or asp@mindspring.com Website: www.aidssurvivalproject.org The AIDS Survival Project is a diverse people living with HIV, united to promote self-empowerment and enhanced quality of life for HIV-affected individuals through advocacy, education, peer support, and treatment activism. As a membership organization comprised of HIV-positive individuals and concerned friends, AIDS Survival Project plays an important role in the epidemic. The Project's purpose is to provide those affected by HIV disease with the information and the support needed to make well-informed choices about our living. This unique focus insures a passionate and committed response to the diverse and changing needs of people with HIV/AIDS, because their voices are our voices. The Project has a treatment resource center for people wanting to learn more about HIV and treatment issues, a weekend workshop called Thrive Weekend every other month for those affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS. There are also peer counselors who are available to talk with families and friends of infected inmates and other loved ones, and HIV/AIDS positive counselors who can offer emotional support regarding living well with HIV. The Project's monthly newsletter, Survival News, is available to receive by subscription.  Collect phone calls are accepted from inmates who have HIV/AIDS treatment concerns. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION (ACLU) 125 Broad Street 18th Floor New York 10004 212-549-2500 Email www@aclu.org Website: www.aclu.org The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is our Nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States. In 1920, when the ACLU was founded by Roger Baldwin, Crystal Eastman, Albert DeSilver and others, civil liberties were in a sorry state. Activists were languishing in jail for distributing anti-war literature. Foreign-born people suspected of political radicalism were subject to summary deportation. Racial segregation was the law of the land and state sanctioned violence against African Americans was routine. Constitutional rights for lesbians and gay men, the poor and many other groups were virtually unthinkable. Moreover, the U.S. Supreme Court had yet to uphold a single free speech claim under the First Amendment. Since its founding in 1920, the nonprofit, nonpartisan ACLU has grown from a roomful of civil liberties activists to an organization of nearly 300,000 members and supporters, with offices in almost every state. The ACLU has also maintained, since its founding, the position that civil liberties must be respected, even in times of national emergency. In support of that position, the ACLU has appeared before the Supreme Court and other federal courts on numerous occasions, both as direct counsel and by filing amicus briefs. The ACLU's mission is to fight civil liberties violations wherever and whenever they occur. Most of our clients are ordinary people who have experienced an injustice and have decided to fight back. The ACLU is also active in our national and state capitals, fighting to ensure that the Bill of Rights will always be more than a "parchment barrier" against government oppression and the tyranny of the majority. The ACLU is supported by annual dues and contributions from its members, plus grants from private foundations and individuals. The ACLU does not receive any government funding. The ACLU is a 50 state network of staffed autonomous offices. The national office coordinates the efforts of the state affiliates. The Board consists of a representative from each state affiliate and forty at-large members. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION OF GEORGIA 142 Mitchell Street, SW Suite 301 Atlanta, GA 30303 (404) 523-5398 (voice) Email: info@acluga.org Website: www.acluga.org This state affiliate of the ACLU is autonomous but shares the mission of the national ACLU ATLANTA CONSULTANTS AFTERCARE Mary Booker (404) 753-3323 (voice) (404) 758-1477 (fax) Atlanta Consultants Aftercare offers a variety of aftercare services for people re-entering society after incarceration, and their families. A monthly newsletter is published with items of interest for prisoners, parolees and their families and friends. A CLOSER LOOK 657 Old Hendrys Church Road Canon, Ga. 30520 Dianne Sifford: (229) 482-9164 or Camille Bailey: (706) 376-9156 email: leah@hartcom.net A Closer Look is the friends, families and significant others of Georgia prisoners who are frustrated with obstacles placed before us while trying to maintain meaningful relationships with our incarcerated loved ones. We have joined to offer support, share experiences and seek solutions. We invite families, significant others and friends of inmates all over Georgia to become a member of A Closer Look. You don’t have to face these difficulties alone anymore! GEORGIA ALLIANCE FOR CHILDREN 30 Haygood Avenue SW Atlanta, GA 30315 (404) 688-7327 (voice) 404-524-2850 (fax) E-mail: alliance@bellsouth.net Website: www.gac.org The Georgia Alliance for Children is widely recognized as Georgia's leading "cutting edge" child advocacy organization. We stand up for needy and powerless children by protecting children's interests when government or the community is either unwilling or unable to do so. Our mission is to change the way people think and act about issues that affect children's lives. The Alliance is a private, nonprofit organization. To maintain independence, the Alliance does not accept any government funding. Instead, the Alliance is supported by more than 500 corporations, 60 private foundations, and thousands of individuals. Some of that funding has been for specific legislative campaigns and demonstration projects, but most has been in support of keeping the Alliance an independent, informed and effective voice for children. By independently assessing the state of children in Georgia, the Alliance is able to create an environment for change that influences legislation, promotes community involvement in children's issues, and generally improves the lives of children across the state. We do whatever is necessary to provoke those who can act to act - from the governor to your neighbor. Since 1979, the Georgia Alliance for Children has served as a powerful voice for our state's neediest children. The Alliance was the impetus behind programs as diverse as Permanent Homes for Children, the Georgia Commission on Juvenile Justice, the Georgia Business Forum for Gifted and Talented Children, and the Georgia Commission on Healthy Adolescents. In 1997, we held the first annual Great Atlanta Youth Walk, an inspirational event that brings the community together to affirm that we each have the power - and the responsibility - to make a difference in the lives of children. FRIENDS OF PRISON FAMILIES P. O. Box 127 Avondale Estates, Ga. 30002 (404) 523-7110 (voice) Friends of Prisoners Families seeks to nurture and sustain the families of persons in prison. We seek to provide this help through a comprehensive program that provides transportation for families to visit their loved ones in prison, family support services and aftercare services. Through the teaching, encouraging and facilitating of prison visitation, through educational programs and pastoral care, through efforts to reconcile families and communities, Friends of Prison Families extends its friendship lovingly and boldly in the name of Christ. Presently, Friends of Prison Families provides transportation for families to visit three prisons in the State of Georgia each month: 1st Saturday: Macon State Prison; 2nd Saturday, Hancock State Prison; 4th Saturday, Lee Arrendale State Prison. Pastoral care is available through the staff of Friends of Prison Families. A Survivor Workshop provided twice a year offers information and resources to help the family survive imprisonment. A Parole Workshop provided twice a year offers families information and resources that will enable them to seek solutions to problems and concerns related to issues of parole. With regard to Aftercare Services, Friends of Prison Families currently acts as a Referral Resource in helping persons find housing, jobs, educational opportunities and counseling resources. A Return-to-Community Seminar is offered twice a year. This four part seminar is designed to help families prepare for the return of their family member from prison. An Aftercare Mentoring Program is available to qualified inmates/parolees and their families to help develop and implement realistic strategies for a successful transition back into the "free world." GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP National Office: P. O. Box 36006 Charlotte, NC 28204 (704) 332-3090 (voice) (704) 332-0445 (fax) email: info@grassroots.org Website: www.grassrootsleadership.org Grassroots Leadership is a multiracial team of organizers who help Southern community and labor organizations think critically, work strategically, and take direct action to end oppression, gain power, and achieve justice and equity. Grassroots Leadership's goal is to put an to certain abuses of justice and the public trust by working to abolish for-profit private prisons. As the statement of principles for the campaign reads: "For-profit private prisons, jails and detention centers have no place in a democratic society. Profiteering from the imprisonment of human beings compromises public safety and corrupts justice. In the spirit of democracy and accountability, we call for an end to all incarceration for profit." But fighting for-profit private prisons is just one of the things Grassroots Leadership has done. Since 1980, our goal has been to help build the infrastructure for a progressive Southern movement, including the leaders, organizers, organizations, networks and coalitions that will make long-term positive change inevitable. Over the past 22 years, we have worked to accomplish this goal in three ways: By helping organizations become stronger so that they can meet the goals they set for themselves, by creating new organizations and by providing strategic space for Southern activists to work together on common issues and campaigns. Grassroots Leadership designs organizing campaigns that invite people to participate and be involved. We work to create a sense of excitement, the feeling that organizing and becoming empowered can be fun as well as deeply rewarding. We use role plays, exercises, storytelling, small group discussions, music, videotape, "readers' theatre," drawing and other similar techniques. We tend to stay away from organizing methods that rely heavily on written materials, using instead those that work the way people in real neighborhoods and communities relate to each other: toe to toe, face to face and voice to voice. In all our organizing work, the goal is to help people believe in themselves and in their ability to make a difference in this world. We believe that, no matter what the subject, what's most important about an organizing campaign is helping people build up their self-esteem and self-confidence, their sense that they can really "talk the talk" and "walk the walk" on their own. When this works, as the old song says, "There can be no power greater anywhere beneath the sun." GREAT DAY, INC. AND FOUNDATION 246 Sycamore Street Suite 240 Decatur GA 30030 (404) 378-8553 V/tdd (888)860-5403 FAX GREAT DAY is a consumer driven advocacy and service center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing. We advocate for equal access for Deaf/disability issues and Mental Health/Substance Abuse Issues MOTHERS ADVOCATING JUVENILE JUSTICE (MAJJ) 4060 Peachtree Road Suite D324 Atlanta, Ga. 30319 (404) 588-2224 (voice) (404) 486-8198 (fax) email: majj01@yahoo.com Mothers Advocating Juvenile Justice (M.A.J.J.) is a grassroots organization formed by mothers of children incarcerated in the adult criminal justice system. MAJJ advocates for fair treatment of these juveniles, the elimination of racial disparities in criminal prosecution and sentencing of juveniles, and passage of legislation for repeal of the law (SB440) permitting adjudication and incarceration of children as adults. MAJJ provides a support network for parents and families of these children, including monthly meetings and a support group. NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE (NAACP) National Bureau: 4805 Mt. Hope Drive Baltimore Maryland 21215 Toll Free: (877)NAACP-98 NAACP 24 Hour Hotline: (410) 521-4939 email: info@naacp.org Website: www.naacp.org Atlanta Branch: 2034 Metropolitan Pkwy, Atlanta, GA 30315 Phone: (404) 761-1266 email: webmaster@atlantanaacp.org Website: www.atlantanaacp.org The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is the oldest, largest and strongest Civil Rights Organization in the United States. The principal objective of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of the United States. The NAACP is committed to achievement through non-violence and relies upon the press, the petition, the ballot and the courts, and is persistent in the use of legal and moral persuasion even in the face of overt and violent racial hostility. The NAACP was formed in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed to helping to right social injustices. On February 12, over the signatures of 60 persons, the "Call" was issued for a meeting on the concept of creating an organization that would be an aggressive watchdog of Negro liberties. This event marked the founding of the NAACP. NAACP GEORGIA STATE CONFERENCE Ruth S. Ash 970 MLK Jr. Drive Suite 203 Atlanta, Ga. 30314 (404) 577-8977 (voice) (404) 524-3633 (fax) NATIONAL MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA (NMHA) 100 Edgewood Ave. NE, Suite 502 Atlanta, GA 30303-3068 In Atlanta: (404) 527-7175 Outside Atlanta (800) 933-9896 (voice) (404)527-7187 (fax) email: webmaster@nmhag.org Website: www.nmhag.org All Georgians will have access to culturally competent and appropriate mental health services and information including prevention, early intervention, treatment and recovery. In pursuit of mental health for all Georgians, the National Mental Health Association of Georgia will educate, advocate, deliver services, and support ethical research and courageously confront stigma, prejudice, and discrimination. Our values are as follows: Mental Health is fundamental to the development and realization of every person's full potential. People with mental illness can recover and live healthy, productive lives. Everyone, regardless of disability, has the rights and responsibilities of full participation in society. Every Georgian and social institution has a role in the promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental, emotional, and social problems. The National Mental Health Association of Georgia values inclusiveness and see broad participation as essential to healthy communities. Consumers, parents and families are unique and essential participants in advocacy, services, education, training and research. All children, adolescents and adults in Georgia with and at risk of serious emotional disorders and their families should have access to a full array of high quality community-based, integrated systems of care, regardless of their ability to pay. Access to and reimbursement for mental health treatment should be commensurate with other illnesses. Mental health services in Georgia should be ethically, culturally and linguistically appropriate. The activities of the National Mental Health Association of Georgia will address the unique needs of urban, rural and local communities. Mental health research is essential for the development and improvement of prevention efforts, service delivery systems and treatment. The National Mental Health Association of Georgia supports the diversion of mental health consumers from the criminal justice system to treatment resources when appropriate. The National Mental Health Association of Georgia works in concert with other local and state advocates and recognizes the value of partnerships to reach mutual goals. Branches are essential to the success of the National Mental Health Association of Georgia. NEW HOPE HOUSE (770) 358-1148 (voice) email: newhopehouse@accessunited.com New Hope House provides hospitality for families of people on Georgia's death row. A fully equipped guest house located 4 miles from "Jackson" prison is available for overnight stays at no cost. We also look for friends who can provide transportation to the prison. We regularly accompany families during death penalty trials. This includes providing support both to the defendant, their family and the defense lawyers. Our resources are available only to people on Georgia's death row and people facing a death penalty trial. THE OPEN DOOR COMMUNITY/ SOUTHERN PRISON MINISTRY 910 Ponce de Leon Atlanta, Ga. 30306 (404) 874-9652 (voice) (404) 874-7694 (fax) email: pleon2000@mindspring.com Website: www.opendoorcommunity.org The Open Door Community is a residential community in the Catholic Worker tradition (we’re sometimes called the Protestant Catholic Worker House!). We seek to dismantle racism, sexism and heterosexism, abolish the death penalty, and create the Beloved Community on Earth through a loving relationship with some of the most neglected and outcast of God’s children: the homeless and our sisters and brothers who are in prison. We serve breakfasts and soup-kitchen lunches, provide showers and changes of clothes, staff a free medical clinic, conduct worship services and meetings for the clarification of thought, and provide a prison ministry, including monthly trips for families to visit loved ones at Hardwick Prison in central Georgia. We also advocate on behalf of the oppressed, homeless and prisoners through nonviolent protests, grassroots organization and the publication of our monthly newspaper, Hospitality. Each month the Open Door provides transportation for as many as 75 family members who travel to several prisons in Hardwick, Georgia, just south of Milledgeville, to spend time with their imprisoned loved ones during Saturday visiting hours. This ministry makes possible some 900 family visits each year. It is but one witness of the Southern Prison Ministry founded by Open Door Partner Murphy Davis in 1977. Its principal mission is to advocate for abolition of the death penalty and for the rights and dignity of people in prison. Through its actions (peaceful marches, leafleting, non-violent demonstrations and other forms of advocacy), the Open Door is committed to dramatizing the plight of homeless people and keeping homelessness in the public eye. The Open Door Community also functions as an important educational institution and publication center. We provide residential volunteer positions and work/study experiences for students from around the country and the world. Undergraduate, graduate and seminary students are among those who have had the opportunity to live at the Open Door, share in its ministries and reflect upon their experiences. In addition, Murphy Davis and Ed Loring, two members of the community’s leadership team, are frequent guest lecturers and seminar leaders at campuses, churches and conferences throughout the country. Our newspaper, Hospitality, is another important vehicle for the dissemination of the Open Door’s ideals and story. Each issue contains thought-provoking reflections and news articles that are a source of inspiration and vision for thousands of readers. The letters to the editor, which come from around the world, illustrate the reach and impact of the publication. The readership ranges from prisoners on death row to prominent theologians in the United States and Europe. PRISON AND JAIL PROJECT P.O. Box 6749 Americus, Ga. 31709 (229) 928-2080 (voice) (229) 924-7080 (fax) Website: www.prisonandjail.org The Prison and Jail Project has as its focus Southwest Georgia’s jails, prisons and systems of control. There are many jails and prisons in this part of Georgia, and nearly all of these facilities are overused, with alternative programs nonexistent. Confinement in these institutions is inhumane. Southwest Georgia also sends a number of folks to the state’s death row. The Prison and Jail Project visits prisoners regularly in Southwest Georgia. The Prison and Jail Project advocates on behalf of prisoners and their families; monitors conditions in the jails and prisons; works to increase the public’s awareness of these conditions; calls attention to the system’s inadequacies; and explores the viability of various alternatives to incarceration. The Prison and Jail Project also monitors death penalty cases in the region and organizes folk to speak out against capital punishment. The Prison and Jail Project organizes at the grassroots level to bring folks together who have not had much of a voice, to build a coalition of people–imprisoned and free– who can begin to speak out for change in the system and cry out for justice, a justice that is healing, reconciling, and restorative. The Prison and Jail Project believes that God calls us all to expose and confront injustice, to challenge the alienating power that is our present system of social control. It is our hope that such exposure will move concerned people to seek radical new solutions for dealing with those who break the law, solutions that do not rely on costly and inhumane forms of punishment. As people of faith, we dare not turn our backs any longer, or close our eyes to what is happening in, and because of, our prisons and jails. PROJECT WELCOME HOME Gale "Sky" Edeawo P.O. Box 61660 Savannah, GA. 31420 (912) 351-1681 (voice mail) e-mail: mamasky07@aol.com Project Welcome home is an AfterCare Referral Service which primarily works with women reentering society from jail or prison. We are a hands on referral service that connects women to agencies that offer them education, housing, life skills, support groups, etc. We advocate and intermediate for our women, assisting them as much as possible in obtaining a smooth transition back into their community. We normally service the Southeastern Georgia area, Chatham, Liberty, Effingham, McIntosh, Camden, etc. Focusing mostly on areas in and around Chatham county. Project Welcome Home operates at the grassroots level and acts as a liason between the Criminal Justice System and Community Agencies. We maintain a formal and informal relationship with both the Justice System and participating agencies. Our program will stay abreast of any legal, financial, personnel or governmental changes taking place with any of the organizations we refer our clients to. Doing so should help us eliminate much of the frustration women come up against while attempting to reenter society. PROJECT SOUTH: INSTITUTE FOR THE ELIMINATION OF POVERTY AND GENOCIDE 9 Gammon Ave SW Atlanta, GA 30315 (404) 622-0602 (voice) (404) 622-6618 (fax) email: general-info@projectsouth.org website: www.projectsouth.org Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty & Genocide is a broad-based community-driven membership organization that develops and conducts popular political and economic education and action research for organizing and liberation. We develop indigenous popular educators and movement leaders from grassroots and scholar-activist backgrounds, bringing them together on the basis of equality to engage in building a bottom-up movement for social and economic justice. Project South is a membership organization. Members pay annual dues (based on graduated dues structure) and receive membership benefits, including popular education resources and discounts on workshops. Project South Board members govern the organization, making financial and programmatic decisions. They participate in raising resources and creating curriculum for the organization. Each Board member also serves on at least one of the Board Committees. The Board is elected every two years by the standing Board, from a slate selected from our constituency. Members, Staff, and Board identify prospective Board Members. Poverty South exists because oppression exists. We face a growing political and social environment where low-income workers struggle for jobs that pay a livable wage. Public policy initiatives – welfare reform, privatization & criminal injustice – negatively impact our lives. Disenfranchised voters lose hope of true democracy. Communities of color continue to fight discrimination. As the scales tip steeply toward the rich and powerful, those who are oppressed are taking action and fighting back. In order to develop effective strategies for social change and challenge institutional power, disenfranchised and marginalized communities must possess a deep, comprehensive understanding of our economic, political and social realities. Relevant and accessible popular political and economic education is the basis for developing accurate strategies, capable leadership and effective organizing for building the capacity of a new movement for social and economic justice. Through each of our program areas – Popular Education, Action Research and Our Local Affiliates – Project South creates real change on these and other issues of oppression. With each day, we move one step forward in building the capacity of a new movement for social and economic justice. Project South seeks to eliminate oppression by education and action. We must identify the oppression and educate our communities about it before we can affect change. Oppression finds its strength in the South but exists worldwide. We neither accept oppression nor tolerate its many forms, such as racism, classism, sexism, ageism, and xenophobia. We design each of our program areas – popular education, action research and our local affiliates – to challenge and eliminate oppression. Our methodology is popular education and our strategy is movement building. In social justice, individual efforts are beginning to share some points in common and to look in the same direction. We believe this is a sign of a new emerging movement for justice. Now, more than ever, is the time to push our work! Popular education and action research, with a strong focus on grassroots leadership development, are tools that build a strong, effective movement. Through our partnerships and programs, we develop and deliver the tools needed to work toward social and economic change. SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (SCLC) P. O. Box 89128 Atlanta, GA 30312 (404) 522-1420 (voice) (404) 527-4333 (fax) Website and email: www.sclcnational.org The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is a movement of people and for the people, growing out of the deep tradition and long history of struggle for basic human rights. This movement is grounded in the philosophy of nonviolent resistance based on the lives and teachings of leaders such as Jesus Christ and Mohandas Gandhi. It is a movement that also has roots in the larger history of liberation struggles by Black people and all oppressed peoples the world over. In the spirit of Martin Luther King,Jr., the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is renewing its commitment to bring about the promise of 'one nation, under God, INDIVISIBLE' together with the commitment to activate the 'strength to love' within the community of humankind. Our objectives are: to promote spiritual principles within our membership and local communities; to educate youth and adults in the areas of personal responsibility, leadership potential, and community service; to ensure economic justice and civil rights in the areas of discrimination and affirmative action; and to eradicate environmental classism and racism wherever it exists. We at SCLC challenge all people of good will, of every persuasion, who believe in the principles espoused by Martin Luther King, Jr. to join us in our mission. THE RAINBOW/PUSH COALITION (RPC) National Headquarters: 930 East 50th Street Chicago, IL 60615 (773) 373-3366 (voice) (773)373-3571 (fax) email: info@rainbowpush.org website: www.rainbowpush.org Atlanta Bureau: Herndon Plaza 100 Auburn Avenue Suite 101 Atlanta, GA 30303 ph: 404-525-5663 or 5668 Fax: 404-525-5233 Joe Beasley, Southern Regional Director 540 Kennedy Street Atlanta, Ga. 30318 (404) 524-2743 (voice) (404) 524-3757 (fax) email: joebeasl@bellsouth.net The RPC is a progressive organization fighting for social change. As a mighty coalition of conscience; workers, women and people of color have the power to make the American Dream a Reality! The National Rainbow/PUSH Coalition (RPC) is a multiracial, multi-issue, international membership organization founded by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. We're working to move the nation and the world toward social, racial and economic justice. From our national headquarters in Chicago and a bureau in Washington, D.C., we're uniting people of diverse ethnic, religious, economic and political backgrounds to make America's promise of " liberty and justice for all" a reality. RPC is the merger of Operation PUSH (founded in 1971) and the National Rainbow Coalition (founded in 1985). One organization will more efficiently use financial resources, staff and leadership. RPC is dedicated to improving the lives of all people by focusing on cures for social, economic and political ills. Our issues include but are not limited to: Jobs and Economic Empowerment; Employee Rights and Livable Wages ;Educational Access; Fair and Decent Housing; Voter Registration and Civic Education; Election Law Reform; Fairness in the Media, Sports, and Criminal Justice System; Political Empowerment; Trade and Foreign Policy; Affirmative Action and Equal Rights; Gender Equality; and Environmental Justice. YOUTH TASK FORCE (YTF) In Georgia, contact Angela Brown, 404-314-4949 email: angelaelizabethbrown@msn.com Youth Task Force is a collective of youth who came together in 1992 to fight environmental genocide occurring in poor communities and communities of color across the south. Today, YTF has evolved as a mass movement of young people striving to alleviate the oppression of our communities through education, training, networking, mobilizing and organizing for the right of self-determination for Afrikan people. The YTF, through its principles of work and programatic thrust, strive to provide political education, skills training and creative involvement technique for young people. We actively organize against the violations of our human rights as we actively join the international struggle for liberation and self-determination. On the local level, the YTF works to build inclusive non-oppressive coalitions, bringing together young people and our elders, the working class and people of color, to address the deterioration and oppression of Community.