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Social Justice & Advocacy Websites
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a civil rights law-based organization that works to ensure individual rights provided by the Constitution and law of the United States to all people. The organization works in courts, legislatures, and communities to guard social liberties and address social injustices.
Brennan Center for Justice
Brennan Center for Justice strives to uphold the values of democracy and stands for equal justice and the rule of law. They work to strengthen democracy, protect liberty and security and end mass incarceration.
Their programs focus on criminal justice, democracy, protection of fundamental freedoms and securing the balance of power. They conduct research to reach transformative solution and advocate and fight in courts with elected officials to advance legislations. They also act a cutting-edge communications hub by taking their message directly to the press and public.
Brookings Institute
The Brookings Institution is a well-respected American think tank based on Embassy Row in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and global economy and development. Its stated mission is to "provide innovative and practical recommendations that advance three broad goals: strengthen American democracy; foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans; and secure a more open, safe, prosperous, and cooperative international system". Brookings states that its scholars "represent diverse points of view" and describes itself as non-partisan.
Catholic Charities USA
Catholic Charities USA supports a national network of agencies committed to encountering those along the margins, regardless of their faith. Join us in providing help and creating hope for those in need.
Catholic Relief Services
We work with organizations around the world to help poor and vulnerable people overcome emergencies, earn a living through agriculture and access affordable health care.
Catholic Social Teaching - Social Spirituality
Catholic Social Teaching is not just a collection of documents, but the social justice tradition is often communicated through Catholic Social Teaching documents from Popes, and from local Bishops.
Catholic Worker Movement
The aim of the Catholic Worker movement is to live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ. . . . This aim requires us to begin living in a different way. We recall the words of our founders, Dorothy Day who said, ‘God meant things to be much easier than we have made them,’ and Peter Maurin who wanted to build a society ‘where it is easier for people to be good.
Center for Children and Youth Justice
The Center for Children and Youth Justice partners with parents, advocates, service providers, and policy members to advocate for youth-centered approaches to address children based social justice issues in juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The organization works to divert youth from entering juvenile justice and child welfare systems and provide support and assistance to children who have been involved in these systems.
Center for Teen Empowerment
Mission: To employ, train, and empower youth to, in collaboration with adults, create peace, equity, and justice. Vision: We envision a world in which youth with adults, in mutually respectful and supportive relationships, use their voices creatively to inspire, lead, and empower their communities to achieve justice and peace.
Children's Rights
Children’s Rights is a child and family advocacy organization that works to support children, parents, and families by providing resources and supporting local, state, and national legislative action for children. The organization provides resources to families and works to address child mental health, educational, legal and medical issues to promote equality in child treatments.
Color of Change
Color of Change is one of the largest online racial justice organizations helping people respond effective to injustice in the world that surrounds them. It has around 7 million members moving decision-makers in corporations and government to create less hostile world for black people in America.
They lead campaigns to rebuild real power for black communities, through which they challenge injustice by holding political and corporate leaders accountable. They also conduct research on inequality systems and provide solutions for racial justice that can transform the world.
DoSomething.org
DoSomething.org is an outstanding organization whose goal is to support the work of young people who want to make a difference in their world. Students browse through a big list of campaigns, public education and activism projects students can launch right in their own communities, and choose one or more that they’d like to participate in.
The Dream Corps.
The Dream Corps focuses on the intersection of legislation and human dignity. They leverage changing culture through campaigns like Cut50 and Empathy Network. They work to shift the narrative and bring together grassroots organizations in order to drive culture and policy change, striving to bring freedom and dignity to all communities.
Equal Justice Initiative
The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) was established in 1989 by a popular public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson to ‘’end mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the United States, to challenge racial and economic injustice, and to protect basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.’’
EJI works with marginalized communities to change the narrative about race in America. They also provide legal representation to people who have been illegally convicted or abused in state prisons. They challenge the death penalty and excessive punishment, and provide assistance to formerly incarcerated people. Recently, they also have been creating memorials to address the legacy of lynching, slavery, and racial segregation.
Facing History and Ourselves
Facing History is officially called “Facing History and Ourselves: Helping Classrooms and Communities Worldwide Link the Past To Moral Choices Today.” It’s a mouthful, but does accurately portray their work. It’s quite an impressive international organization, and people whom I respect have worked closely with them and speak highly of their work. Their website has many useful resources.
Fair Fight
Fair Fight works on promotion of fair elections in Georgia and around the United States by encouraging voter participation in elections and educating them about their rights. They bring awareness to the public on election reforms and advocate for election changes at all levels.
Fair Fight works against voter suppression of voters of color and young voters and engages in their mobilization by conducting education activities and advocating for progressive issues. They had mounted significant programs to combat voter protection suppression and initiated programs to actually support voter protection across the country.
First Star
First Star is an academic based national organization that works to improve the lives of foster children by ensuring children have academic, life skills, and adult support needed to succeed in the transition to adulthood after leaving foster care.
Girls Inc.
Girls Inc. partners with schools and utilized organizational centers to assist young girls in developing self esteem and strength. Through the use of mentoring relationships, pro-girl environments and programs, Girls Inc. works to help girls navigate gender, economic and social barriers to grow up independently.
The Global Fund
The Global fund is an international organization that invests money into health services across the world to increase access to healthcare and aid to eradicate HIV, TB, and malaria.
Global Oneness Project
The Global Oneness Project offers a beautiful collection of multicultural films, photo essays, and articles that “explore cultural, social, and environmental issues with a humanistic lens.” Many of the featured stories are paired with a lesson plan for high school or college classrooms, aligned with Common Core and national standards.
GLSEN
GLSEN was founded in 1990 by a group of teachers who knew that educators play key roles in creating affirming learning environments for LGBTQ students. Today, their network has more than 1.5 million members and includes students, families, educators and education advocates.
They advocate for comprehensive policies that protect LGBTQ students and students of marginalized identities. Their network spreads across 43 chapters in 30 US states, to ensure that they reach every LGBTQ student so that they are able to grow and learn in a school environment free from harassment and bullying.
Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign is an advocacy focused organization that works to achieve equality for LGBTQ+ people. The organization’s mission is to end discrimination and violence towards members of the LGBTQ+ community both nationally and around the World.
Innocence Project
The Innocence Project is a criminal justice and law based national organized organization that works to free wrongly convicted individuals. The organization both works with wrongly convicted individuals to release them from incarceration and advocates for criminal justice reform in the United States.
International Organization for MIgration
As a part of the United Nations system, International Organization for Migration works to support migrants across the world. The organization works to ensure humane and ordered migration across the world, and assists governments in maintaining human rights and dignity for migrants.
International Organization for Migration
As a part of the United Nations system, International Organization for Migration works to support migrants across the world. The organization works to ensure humane and ordered migration across the world, and assists governments in maintaining human rights and dignity for migrants.
Justice Round Table
https://justiceroundtable.org/
Madre
Madre as an organization works internationally to address gender inequality around the world. With a focus on ending gender violence, supporting women’s efforts to defend against climate change, and strengthening women’s ability to prevent, survive and recover from war through lobbying and grant making.
Maryknoll
Maryknoll, a Catholic non-profit mission movement now comprised of four organizations, has been the heart and hands of the U.S. Catholic Church’s overseas mission work for more than 100 years.
National Alliance To End Homelessness
The National Alliance to End Homelessness utilizes research and data to discover solutions to homelessness and partners with federal and local partners to advocate for and provide resources to support solutions to end homelessness.
National Disability Rights Network
The National Disability Rights Network works in Washington, DC on behalf of the Protection and Advocacy Systems (P&As) and Client Assistance Programs (CAPs), the nation’s largest providers of legal advocacy services for people with disabilities.
National Fair Housing Alliance
The National Fair Housing Alliance is a national civil rights organization that is dedicated to eliminating housing and lending discrimination. National Fair Housing Alliance works to achieve its goal in achieving equity in housing by providing home ownership, credit access, tech equity, education, member services, public policy, community development and enforcement initiatives.
National LGBTQ Task Force
The National LGBTQ Task Force fights for freedom and equality of LGBTQ people. They work to build a future where everyone can be themselves in every aspect of their lives. To achieve this, they train and mobilize activists to deliver a free world.
Their advocacy team advocates on opportunities to advance full freedom, justice, equality and equity for LGBTQ people. They achieve this through queering the progressive movement and mobilizing the LGBTQ community and allies at places of intersectionality to end discrimination in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights.
National Organization on Disability
The National Organization on Disability works to close gaps in occupational participation between people with and without disabilities. The organization analyzes, advises and assesses employment abilities for the disabled and advocates for companies to achieve equality in the work place.
National Urban League
The National Urban League is a Civil Rights organization that works with community leaders, policymakers, and corporate partners to address racial inequality nationally. The organization works to help Black Americans and other People of Color achieve economic self-reliance and equality by providing services and education with job training, housing and community development, workforce development, and health resources.
Native American Rights Fund
The Native American Rights Fund is an organization that provides legal assistance to Native American persons and tribes in an effort to protect freedom, rights, and natural resources. Native American Rights Fund are respected consultants to policy makers and engage in drafting legislation that ensure Native American religious and civil rights while protecting tribes from unlawful government intrusion.
NEA EdJustice
NEA EdJustice engages and mobilizes activists in the fight for racial, social and economic justice in public education. Readers will find ways they can advocate for our educators, students, families and communities. See the issues below for actions and tools.
Network, Advocates for Justice, Inspired by Catholic Sisters
NETWORK’s mission and values arise out of the long and rich tradition of Catholic Social Justice. This tradition encompasses the written teachings of the Church (Catholic Social Teaching) but is also broader, including the witness of all Christians and people of faith committed to proclaiming the love of the Gospel and the justice of God’s kingdom in the public sphere. We at NETWORK are inspired in a special way by the courageous commitment of Catholic sisters living out Gospel justice. Catholic Social Justice is not a theory or an intellectual exercise, but rather how people of faith are called to live the Gospel in a broken and suffering world.
Prison Policy Inititative
Prison Policy Initiative is a research-based organization that conducts and reports research on mass incarceration in the United States. The organization’s research aids advocates in their push towards criminal justice reform and mass incarceration by providing accessible research on the impacts of mass incarceration.
Pushing the Edge with Greg Curran: Social Justic Resources
Educator Greg Curran’s podcast covers a range of educational topics, but quite a few episodes circle around issues of social justice. Recently, he curated these resources into a Social Justice Resources Collection. These episodes will be mainly useful for teachers to educate themselves about social justice education: what complications and questions come up, helpful do’s and don’ts, and why it’s worth it. He interviews practicing teachers and administrators who are walking the walk with social justice teaching. Listening to them will give you a template from which to build your own practice.
Race Forward
Race Forward is a social justice organization that catalyzes movement building for racial justice. They envision ‘’a just, multiracial, democratic society, free from oppression and exploitation, in which people of color thrive with power and purpose’’.
They work with communities and other organizations to build strategies to advance racial justice in policies, institutions and culture. They conduct cutting edge research on pressing racial justice issues and focus on the significance of race in society. Their work also entails pushing forward the conversation on race in the media, mainly through their award-winning daily news site Colorlines, as well as advocating on complex racial justice issues in several other ways.
Social Justice Resource Center
(Search by concern/issue/topic.)
Teaching Tolerance
Founded in 1991 by the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance is dedicated to reducing prejudice, improving intergroup relations and supporting equitable school experiences for our nation's children. We provide free educational materials to teachers and other school practitioners in the U.S. and Canada. Our self-titled magazine is sent to 450,000 educators twice annually, and tens of thousands of educators use our free curricular kits. More than 5,000 schools participate in our annual Mix It Up at Lunch Day program. Our teaching materials have won two Oscars, an Emmy and more than 20 honors from the Association of Educational Publishers, including two Golden Lamp Awards, the industry's highest honor. Scientific surveys demonstrate that our programs help students learn respect for differences and bolster teacher practice.
Thomson Reuters Foundation (Trust.org)
The Thomson Reuters Foundation stands for free, independent journalism, human rights, women’s empowerment, and the rule of law. We’re a mix of journalists, lawyers, social innovators, media and communication trainers, and we expose corruption worldwide and play a leading role in the global fight against human trafficking. We tackle global issues and achieve lasting impact.
Transgender Law Center
The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is a trans-led social rights organization advocating for a world in which all people are free to pursue their lives as they wish. They change laws, policies, and attitudes so that everyone can live free from discrimination regardless of their expression or gender identity.
For almost two decades, TLC has been has been challenging the legal system to respect the dignity and humanity of transgender and gender nonconforming people. They believe in justice and liberation for all trans people, including those most impacted by the system they fight against such as imprisoned trans people, black and brown trans migrants, black trans women, trans people living with HIV, and trans youth.
USCCB: US Conference of Catholic Bishops - Catholic Campaign for Human Development
NETWORK’s mission and values arise out of the long and rich tradition of Catholic Social Justice. This tradition encompasses the written teachings of the Church (Catholic Social Teaching) but is also broader, including the witness of all Christians and people of faith committed to proclaiming the love of the Gospel and the justice of God’s kingdom in the public sphere. We at NETWORK are inspired in a special way by the courageous commitment of Catholic sisters living out Gospel justice. Catholic Social Justice is not a theory or an intellectual exercise, but rather how people of faith are called to live the Gospel in a broken and suffering world.
Vera Institute of Justice
The Vera Institute of Justice is a Criminal Justice reform-based organization that works to end mass incarceration of people of color, immigrants, and people who are experiencing poverty. The organization’s advocates, researchers, and activists, provide support and accessible research regarding mass incarceration and advocate for criminal justice reform.
World Advocacy Project
(Search by issue/concern/topic.) Premier list of advocacy groups.
YES Magazine
YES Magazine has a number of useful classroom materials on environmental and social justice issues, primarily meant for teachers.
Articles of Interest
Dialogues on DIversity (Various Resources on Social Justice Sites)
We aim to help people gain a greater understanding of the many ways that racism and bias can operate in our world. To this end, we have put together a list of some of the websites that we have used for support and research. These sites are invaluable for gaining insight into the landscape of social justice in the U.S. and beyond.
All the sites noted below are national programs. We urge you to investigate programs and services in your own area that may have resources directly connected to your community. Some of these national sites are a good place to start your searches. Additionally, there are hundreds not listed that do amazing work.
We urge you to visit these sites, link to them, and give them your support.
