JCPA Leads Civil Rights Mission on Eve of First Anniversary of the National Memorial on Peace and Justice

The Mission is central to JCPA’s ongoing efforts to re-engage the Jewish Community on Civil Rights

WHAT: JCPA’s Civil Rights Mission

WHEN: April 28-30, 2019

WHERE: Atlanta, Montgomery, Selma, and Birmingham.

Highlights include:

• National Human and Civil Rights Museum
• King Center and Tomb
• Rosa Park Museum
• Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and National Memorial on Peace and Justice
• Selma and The Edmund Pettus Bridge
• Freedom Park and 16th Street Baptist Church
• Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

WHO: The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), a network of 125 local Jewish Community Relations Councils (JCRCs) and 17 national Jewish agencies, advocates for a just and pluralistic America in partnership minority, faith, and civic leaders and legislators. The trip is made up of 54 Jewish leaders in the community relations field from 13 states around the country.

WHY:
On the eve of the first anniversary of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is leading a civil rights mission to Atlanta and Alabama, from April 28–30. This is part of the organization’s efforts to re-engage Jewish communities in current day civil rights efforts.

Since it was founded 75 years ago, JCPA has prioritized the advancement of civil rights for all Americans and worked extensively on desegregation, voting rights and ending discrimination in housing, education, and employment. Through educational, legal and legislative campaigns with partners in the Black community, JCPA and its members helped achieve many of the landmark victories of the Civil Rights Movement. To learn more about JCPA’s historic work, click here.

Despite significant progress in advancing equality for all, racism and inequality in the United States persist, particularly in the criminal justice system. Recognizing this as a national crisis, JCPA passed numerous resolutions addressing various aspects of criminal justice reform. A 2015 resolution spurred JCPA to launch an initiative to reengage the Jewish community in civil rights work with Black and Latino partners at the state and national levels. JCPA continues to push for bipartisan legislation that would meaningfully reduce mandatory minimums, eliminate racial disparities, and provide greater support for rehabilitation and reentry.

JCPA has launched a national Jewish criminal justice network, helped more than 15 JCRCs around the country take on criminal justice reform at the state and local levels, and remained actively engaged in national coalitions working for policy and cultural change to support those who have been most impacted.

During the Mission, participants will not only gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and victories of the Civil Rights Movement, they will also grapple with how we can expand our impact and provide a significant Jewish voice to critical issues like voting rights and criminal justice reform.