The U.S. justice system is inhumane and immoral, and can only be changed through the efforts of everyday people passionately working to educate and inform their communities. Core to our success is the conviction that America is committing an incredible injustice on entire populations of its own citizens, and that brought to light, average Americans will become allies in the fight for justice and human rights.
Mission Statement
The Next Movement exists to end the mass incarceration of African Americans, other men, women and youth of color, the poor and disadvantaged, and to remove the structural injustices inflicted upon the currently and formerly incarcerated, returning their full rights to them.
Core Activities
- Partnering with like minded organizations, faith-based institutions and individuals around a common set of principles to further our vision and mission
- Educating the public on the issues surrounding mass incarceration
- Developing and implementing strategies and tactics internally, and providing linkages to share best practices among partner organizations externally
- Engaging with and developing youth leadership in all aspects of our work
Core Principles
Mass Incarceration. The New Jim Crow. The War on Drugs. Thanks to Professor Michelle Alexander these phrases are now intimately linked in the minds of social justice advocates and faith leaders as we begin a critical struggle for fairness, justice and human rights in the criminal courts, police precincts and prisons of America. The Next Movement is convinced that America can do better, and that the majority of Americans would want us to do better, if they knew the truth. The truth ─ about systemic incarceration, structural second class status, completely uneven law enforcement practices, oppressive and selectively enforced laws ─ that is filling the prisons of America.
While we recognize that change of the magnitude that we propose is a long-term challenge, we are committed to the fight and hold the following principles as candles in the darkness of the current system:
- The “War on Drugs” is an abject failure and should be dismantled immediately
- There is no appropriate situation for mandatory minimum sentencing that eliminates judicial discretion
- While the courts don’t recognize statistical disparities in arrests, convictions and sentencing, a rational review of the evidence shows a clearly racially biased system that demands correction from moral and ethical people
- People in poor and disadvantaged communities have the same desire to be safe in their homes and on their blocks as anyone else, and should not have to sacrifice their rights in order to realize the benefits of effective law enforcement
- Zero tolerance policies in schools are one more pipeline to prison and an unacceptable practice
- All communities deserve and would welcome a transparent relationship with law enforcement
- America should be a leader in human rights compliance with nothing to fear from an honest appraisal of how we treat our citizens
- Drug addiction is a disease and our laws should treat addiction medically, not criminally
