National Black Women's Justice Institute

In the coming days, as Giving Tuesday—a global day of giving and generosity—approaches and you are thinking about your end-of-year donations, we hope you consider giving a gift to the National Black Women’s Justice Institute to help us continue our work for another 10 years. To continue working toward our mission of ending the criminalization of Black women and girls, we have set an ambitious goal of raising $100,000 by December 31, 2024. ? Your donation supports paid leadership opportunities for directly-impacted Black girls, enables us to provide pro bono technical assistance to Black-women led reentry organizations supporting formerly incarcerated Black women, and furthers groundbreaking research that centers the experiences and needs of Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people. Donate: https://lnkd.in/ewbz2KM #GivingTuesday #BlackWomen #BlackGirls #Nonprofit #NBWJI

As we observe International Transgender Day of Remembrance, we acknowledge the systemic barriers that criminalize and make vulnerable Black transgender women and gender-expansive youth. Ending the criminalization of Black transgender women will require research, solutions that center the needs of Black trans people, and community-driven action. Our forthcoming report about the experiences of Black women, trans, and gender nonconforming people’s encounters with police will finally shed light on how routine, everyday police encounters—like asking an officer for directions or being pulled over for speeding—affect Black women, trans, and gender nonconforming people. By focusing on these specific experiences, we gain a greater understanding of both how current, everyday police practices impact Black women, trans, and gender nonconforming people and how they envision what effective approaches to public safety could look like. #TransAwarenessWeek #TransgenderDayofRemembrance #BlackTransLivesMatter #BlackTransWomen #NBWJI

As Transgender Awareness Week comes to a close, we are reminded of the unique challenges and threats Black transgender women and gender-expansive youth face—unique challenges that make them especially vulnerable to victimization or contact with law enforcement and criminalization. To build a just society, we must dismantle the systems that perpetuate violence and criminalization for Black transgender women and gender-expansive youth, and in its place create pathways to healing. #Transawarenessweek #TransgenderDayofRemembrance #BlackTransLivesMatter #BlackTransWomen #NBWJI

Big news—registration is open for MNCASA’s 2024 Symposium: Confronting the Criminalization of Survivors! We're featuring a powerful panel discussion with the National Black Women's Justice Institute on the criminalization of Black women and girls. Join us virtually on December 12 as we examine the criminalization of victims/survivors and challenge the myth of the “perfect victim." Free for members, $35 for nonmembers, $5 for students: https://rb.gy/doq0mr

RSVP for Session 2: https://bit.ly/CARESLAUNCH? Every day, Black girls face unfair challenges in schools, including being perceived as loud, angry, and aggressive and facing "adultification” bias, where adults perceive Black girls to be older and more mature than they are. ? This often leads to punitive policies under which Black girls are punished more harshly than other students and creates a school environment where Black girls feel unsafe and that hinders success—increasing Black girls’ risk of poor mental health, being pushed out of school altogether, and potentially bringing them into contact with the juvenile legal system. ? But change is possible. ? The CARES (Creating, Affirming, Responsive, Equitable, Schools) Initiative?aims to end school pushout by transforming schools into the nurturing, caring, and supportive educational spaces that Black girls & gender-expansive youth and all students deserve, where they can grow and thrive. We provide schools with essential tools, resources, and training to enhance educators' awareness and commitment to policies and practices that affirm the identities of all students. ? Join us for part two of the webinar series launching the CARES Initiative hosted by Tenaj Moody, M.S., LBS, our director of capacity building and learning. ? Session 2: November 13th ? In the second session, learn from the adult advisory experts who contributed to the CARES assessment tool’s development. Discover how it addresses gaps in supporting Black girls' mental health and explore the innovative resources it offers. You can watch the replay of the CARES Initiative part one here: https://lnkd.in/gtErQQEb ? Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of creating affirming and equitable educational spaces. Join us for the CARES Initiative launch event part two! Together, we can foster safety, belonging, well-being, and opportunities for every student, especially Black girls and gender-expansive youth. ? Learn more about the CARES Initiative and get access to the Assessment Tool & Resource Workbook here: https://lnkd.in/gW4WFTKT

Today would have been Rekia Boyd’s 35th birthday. She was 22 years old when she was shot and killed by an off-duty Chicago police officer. She should still be here. Today we honor her and the unfortunate sisterhood of Black women, girls, & gender-expansive people who have been killed by police. Happy Birthday, Rekia ????? #SayHerName #RekiaBoyd #ProtectBlackWomen #NBWJI

**NEW DATES**? ? Every day, Black girls face unfair challenges in schools, including being perceived as loud, angry, and aggressive and facing "adultification” bias, where adults perceive Black girls to be older and more mature than they are.? ? This often leads to punitive policies under which Black girls are punished more harshly than other students and creates a school environment where Black girls feel unsafe and that hinders success—increasing Black girls’ risk of poor mental health, being pushed out of school altogether, and potentially bringing them into contact with the juvenile legal system.? ? But change is possible.? ? The CARES (Creating, Affirming, Responsive, Equitable, Schools) Initiative aims to end school pushout by transforming schools into the nurturing, caring, and supportive educational spaces that Black girls & gender-expansive youth and all students deserve, where they can grow and thrive.? ? We provide schools with essential tools, resources, and training to enhance educators' awareness and commitment to policies and practices that affirm the identities of all students.? ? Join us for a two-part series launching the CARES Initiative hosted by Tenaj Moody, our director of capacity building and learning.? ? Session 1: You will be introduced to the CARES assessment tool. Developed with insights from Black girls and gender-expansive youth, this tool helps schools implement policies and programs that support mental health and well-being for all students. Hear directly from educators at Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy and Democracy Prep Public School about their experiences using the tool and how it has empowered their approach to supporting Black girls in their schools.? ? Session 2: Learn from the adult advisory experts who contributed to the CARES assessment tool’s development. Discover how it addresses gaps in supporting Black girls' mental health and explore the innovative resources it offers.? ? Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of creating affirming and equitable educational spaces. ? ? RSVP ?? https://bit.ly/CARESLAUNCH

In our work to end the criminalization of Black women & girls, it is impossible not to talk about survivors of domestic violence: Black women disproportionately experience domestic violence and intimate partner violence, with 54% facing stalking, physical, or sexual violence in their lifetime. As Domestic Violence Awareness Month concludes, our mission to end the criminalization of Black women and girls includes survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence. To learn more about the pathways in which Black survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence are disproportionately criminalized, check out our factsheet: Black Women & Girls, Gender-Based Violence, and Pathways to Criminalization & Incarceration? https://lnkd.in/gwDw5BFQ #DomesticViolence #BlackWomen #MassIncarceration #DomesticViolenceAwareness

**NEW DATES** Every day, Black girls face unfair challenges in schools, including being perceived as loud, angry, and aggressive and facing "adultification” bias, where adults perceive Black girls to be older and more mature than they are. This often leads to punitive policies under which Black girls are punished more harshly than other students and creates a school environment where Black girls feel unsafe and that hinders success—increasing Black girls’ risk of poor mental health, being pushed out of school altogether, and potentially bringing them into contact with the juvenile legal system. But change is possible. The CARES (Creating, Affirming, Responsive, Equitable, Schools) Initiative aims to end school pushout by transforming schools into the nurturing, caring, and supportive educational spaces that Black girls & gender-expansive youth and all students deserve, where they can grow and thrive. We provide schools with essential tools, resources, and training to enhance educators' awareness and commitment to policies and practices that affirm the identities of all students. Join us for a two-part series launching the CARES Initiative hosted by Tenaj Moody, our director of capacity building and learning. Session 1: You will be introduced to the CARES assessment tool. Developed with insights from Black girls and gender-expansive youth, this tool helps schools implement policies and programs that support mental health and well-being for all students. Hear directly from educators at Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy and Democracy Prep Public School about their experiences using the tool and how it has empowered their approach to supporting Black girls in their schools. Session 2: Learn from the adult advisory experts who contributed to the CARES assessment tool’s development. Discover how it addresses gaps in supporting Black girls' mental health and explore the innovative resources it offers. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of creating affirming and equitable educational spaces. Together, we can foster safety, belonging, well-being, and opportunities for every student, especially Black girls and gender-expansive youth. RSVP ?? https://bit.ly/CARESLAUNCH

We are delighted to announce that our research and advocacy team has been selected to join the 2024-25 cohort of Black to the Future Public Policy Institute Fellows. As we continue to work to end the criminalization of Black women and girls, we look forward to sharing our research and advocating for healing pathways alongside leaders nationwide.