Redistricting

Every ten years, the boundaries of electoral districts are redrawn to reflect population shifts recorded by the Census. The boundaries of each district are important; if neighborhoods are split up between districts, electing representatives that can advocate for the needs of these communities becomes much more difficult.

During the 2010-2011 redistricting cycle, New York State’s legislature drew district lines that largely supported the re-election of incumbents, instead of representing whole communities. In response, CLSJ challenged the New York State’s redistricting plans as being geographically discriminatory against Blacks and Latinos and fought for the creation of the bipartisan New York State Independent Redistricting Commission (NYSIRC). During the current redistricting cycle, NYSIRC will host a series of hearings across the state to learn more about New York’s communities of interest and inform the drawing of new electoral district maps.

In 2021, CLSJ hosted a series of Redistricting Workshops for community members. You can view several of the videos on our YouTube page:

• Draw Maps and Build Power: Getting Ready for Redistricting
• Draw Maps & Build Power: Analyzing Census and Election Data
• Draw Maps & Build Power: Elementary Statistics for Redistricting

You can view the slide decks from the following workshops:

• Getting Ready for Redistricting
• Analyzing Census & Election Data
• Elementary Statistics for Redistricting
• Statistics for Redistricting
• GEO Coding Presentation

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The Esmeralda Simmons Pre-Law Preparatory Program

“A lawyer is either a social engineer or a parasite on society.” — Charles Hamilton Houston, Esq.

The Esmeralda Simmons Pre-Law Preparatory Program is a landmark initiative of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, designed to build a strong and diverse pipeline of future attorneys committed to civil rights, racial justice, and community-centered advocacy. Rooted in the legacy of CLSJ founder Esmeralda Simmons, Esq., and inspired by trailblazers like Charles Hamilton Houston, Pauli Murray, Thurgood Marshall, and Constance Baker Motley, this program prepares emerging legal scholars to follow in the footsteps of the movement’s most influential social engineers.

For nearly four decades, CLSJ has advanced racial equity, protected voting rights, strengthened civic engagement, and empowered our communities through legal advocacy and public education. The Pre-Law Preparatory Program extends this mission by equipping aspiring attorneys with the academic preparation, skills, mentorship, and—most importantly—the historical grounding necessary to enter the legal profession with purpose and confidence.

What the Program Provides

Rigorous Academic Preparation
Participants will receive LSAT instruction, legal writing training, and workshops to build the foundational skills required for success in law school.

Mentorship and Professional Exposure
Students will engage with practicing attorneys, legal scholars, and advocates who model the role of the lawyer as a community servant, strategist, and justice architect.

Movement-Centered Legal Framework
The program introduces students to civil rights lawyering traditions and provides a deep understanding of how law has been—and continues to be—a tool for dismantling inequality.

Leadership Development for Social Justice
By grounding students in the history and strategies of civil rights advocacy, the program prepares a new generation of legal leaders capable of designing the next phase of the civil rights struggle.

A Legacy of Justice, A Pipeline for the Future

The Esmeralda Simmons Pre-Law Preparatory Program reflects CLSJ’s commitment to creating pathways for first-generation, underrepresented, and justice-driven students to join the legal field. By cultivating future attorneys who understand the lived realities and legal needs of their communities, CLSJ is investing in long-term systems change and the sustained protection of civil and human rights.

The next generation of civil rights lawyers begins here—trained, grounded, and ready to advance justice.

 

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Census

Each year, the federal government uses census count data to determine how to spend nearly $800 billion dollars for services that communities rely on.

Your community’s census count data determines how much you will receive for services like SNAP/WIC, healthy food programs, nurses, doctors, health benefits, affordable and emergency housing, teachers, bus and train lines, transportation infrastructure, senior services, infants and youth services, climate, emergency care, and more. It also determines how many elected officials will be assigned to your district.

Communities that are under-counted do not get their fair share of these resources. Historically, communities of African descent are undercounted. This has a devastating impact on our community’s ability to meet its needs.

To prevent an undercount despite the worldwide COVID19 pandemic, CLSJ collaborated with a host of like-minded organizations and trained a team of our own Street Team Educators who met people at train stations, food pantries, street fairs and anywhere safe and practical to explain the importance of the Census and to help them file. CLSJ also convened a citywide coalition for Census 2020 to ensure New Yorkers of African descent had an advocacy vehicle to educate their communities about the need to participate in the census count. Though New York lost Congressional seat, New York City was able to avoid a catastrophic drop in census participation, thanks in large part to these efforts and the increased census participation rates.

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Cultural Rights

The CLSJ Cultural Rights Project advocates for the protection of the cultural rights of people of African descent in New York. This project seeks to raise the banner of human rights protection in the US and ensure that the cultural rights of vulnerable populations are respected. This project centers on work in collaboration with cultural organizations that are focused on the retention and preservation of Pan-African culture.

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