Education is a cornerstone of our mission:

PUBLIC FORUMS AND PANEL DISCUSSIONS

JusticeAid’s public education forums and panels educate our society about key civil and human rights challenges in the fight against injustice and inequality. Attendees gain insights into pressing issues through the personal stories shared by the trusted voices of our distinguished guests and grantee partners.

We live-stream and promote the events via social media to broaden the reach and visibility of our grantee partners’ important work. All educational events are free and open to the public. Read about our justice heroes, and get in touch if you would like to support their efforts.

2022

LGBTQ RIGHTS

SMYAL

2021

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY & COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

NDS PACE
RESOURCES

2020

VOTER SUPPRESSION & VOTER ENGAGEMENT

ELECTION PROTECTION

2019

IMMIGRATION

Immigrant Defense Project

Erasure: The Otherization of Queerness

At the JusticeAid 2022 Fall Forum held on September 18th in partnership with The Riverside Church of New York, speakers and panelists shared their voices and passion, their knowledge and experience, to raise awareness and educate us on the anti-LGBTQ culture and rhetoric that is permeating our country. The forum featured a virtual statement by U.S. Rep Ritchie Torres and personal address by media creator and LGBTQ activist Imara Jones followed by a panel discussion moderated by Rev. Bertram Johnson with panelists Charles King, Ceyenne Doroshow,and Jorge Membreño.The event opened and closed with special musical performances by The Resistance Revival Chorus and Matthew Whitaker.

Read the event Fall Forum Wrap-Up, September 18, 2022.

Safety For Whom? Racist Policing in Communities and Schools

The JusticeAid 2021 Spring Forum was held on May 2, 2021 in partnership with The Riverside Church of New York and introduced JusticeAid’s 2021 grantee partner NDS PACE. The Forum featured a keynote address by Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), a personal statement from US Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), and a compelling conversation moderated by Angela J. Davis, Distinguished Professor of Law, American University Washington College of Law, with panelists Rick Jones, Executive Director NDS PACE; Kristin Nicole Henning, Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Juvenile Justice Initiative at Georgetown Law; and Sally Lee, Founder and Executive Director, Teachers Unite. The event opened and closed with special musical performances by The Resistance Revival Chorus and Matthew Whitaker.

Watch the recorded event and read the event summary.

Lift Every Voice and Vote

Our first online public forum held during the COVID pandemic on June 14, 2020, The form was held in partnership with The Riverside Church of New York, with addresses by Stacey Adams and Hakeem Jeffries, followed by a robust panel discussion moderated by Ray Suarez, Broadcast Journalist and Lecturer, with Kristen Clarke, President & Executive Director, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law/Election Protection and Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO, Voto Latino. The Resistance Revival Chorus and Matthew Whitaker bookended the event with uplifting musical performances. The event followed our  Voices to Protect the Vote virtual concert and fundraiser held on May 17th in support of our 2020 beneficiary Election Protection/866-OUR-VOTE. Watch the online event and read the summary and program.

Indefensible: Immigrants Trapped by the Criminalization of the Immigration Process

A public conversation with Immigrant Defense Project Deputy Director Mizue Aizeki; Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY); Alina Das, NYU Professor and Co-Director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic; Jonathan Jayes-Green, Co-Founder and Director of the UndocuBlack Network; and Alejandra Pablos, activist and immigrant leader facing deportation. The Forum highlighted the work of advocates fighting back against the violence of the deportation system and for the rights of immigrants at the intersection of today’s criminal and immigration systems.

View the summary. 

2018

DEBTORS’ PRISONS

CIVIL RIGHTS CORPS
ESSIE JUSTICE GROUP

2017

DEFENDING PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES

MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT OF THE URBAN JUSTICE CENTER

2016

YEAR OF THE CHILD

NJDC
CFSY

2015

FREEING THE INNOCENT

MAIP 
IP-NO 

Racism and the Criminalization of Poverty: 21st Century Debtors’ Prisons in the Age of Mass Incarceration

A public conversation with Alec Karakatsanis of Civil Rights Corps, Gina Clayton of Essie Justice Group, and Johnny Perez, Director of U.S. Prison Programs at National Religious Campaign Against Torture (he overcame three years of solitary confinement at Rikers). In addition, a presentation by Jeffery Robinson on his multimedia project, Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.

View the summary.

Barriers to Justice for New Yorkers Facing Mental Health Issues

Moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Michael Winerip, with Janos Marton, Just Leadership USA/ #CLOSErikers; Dr. Bobby Cohen, former Medical Director at Rikers and current member of the Board of Corrections; Ann-Marie Louison, Co-Founder of CASES’ Nathaniel Project; and Koretta McClendon, a formerly incarcerated individual who served as Peer Advisor at the Columbia Psychiatric Fellowship program.

View the event summary.

Juvenile Justice, Seth Waxman, the 41st Solicitor General of the United States in conversation with Bryan Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative.

2014

DEFENDING VETERANS’ RIGHTS

JUSTICE FOR VETS

2014

EMPOWERING YOUTH

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT PROJECT

2013

EXPANDING LEGAL SERVICES TO THOSE IN NEED

RISING FOR JUSTICE
GIDEON’S PROMISE