The Center for Law and Social Justice, a unit of the School of Professional and Community Development of Medgar Evers College, CUNY, has recently been awarded several grants to conduct outreach in Central Brooklyn for the 2010 Census. CLSJ will collaborate with the College’s Department of Public Administration, and the DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy. College students will be given opportunities to be directly involved in community outreach to promote Census participation by all members of the Black Diaspora residing in Brooklyn. During Spring 2010, the Center for Law and Social Justice will engage in a street campaign to get the message directly to the people and strongly encourage them “TO BE COUNTED.”
Much is at stake. A major undercount of Central Brooklyn’s residents occurred during the 2000 Census; that undercount rendered a large portion of Central Brooklyn’s residents invisible and resulted in a significant loss of federal and state tax dollars for support for the area’s critical needs in health, public education, job training, and food programs, as well as less than a fair share of electoral power.
The Center was chosen by Ford Foundation national grantee, the Unity Diaspora Coalition, for a $50K grant. The Center was also picked by the New York State Department of State for a $34K grant. Both grants are for CLSJ to lead a campaign targeted at Black participation in CENSUS 2010 in New York City with a focus on Central Brooklyn. In addition, CLSJ will conduct educational activities on the Census and civic engagement as part of the multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-lingual people of color voting rights coalition, the NY Voting Rights Consortium. The Consortium’s activities are funded jointly by the New York Community Trust and the New York Foundation. The Center for Law and Social Justice is a community-based legal institution that has a heralded history in advocating for voting rights, the Census, and other racial justice issues in New York City.
About Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Medgar Evers College was founded in 1970 through the efforts from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn. The College is named after Medgar Wiley Evers, a Mississippi-born black civil rights activist who was assassinated on June 12, 1963. The College is divided into four schools: The School of Business; The School of Professional and Community Development; The School of Liberal Arts and Education; and The School of Science, Health, and Technology. Through these Schools, the College offers 29 associate and baccalaureate degree programs, as well as certificate programs in fields such as English, Nursing, and Accounting. Medgar Evers College also operates several co-curricular and external programs and associated centers such as the Male Development and Empowerment Center, the Center for Women’s Development, the Center for Black Literature, and The DuBois Bunche Center for Public Policy.