Blog
Emancipate NC Statement on the Insurrection of the U.S. Capitol
Digesting what happened to America yesterday will take time. We do not profess to have fully processed, but as we work through unpacking the historic insurrection that occurred, more and more layers will be laid bare. We have seen many emails from organizations,...
We Are Living Abolition
Hi Friends, We are truly in our feelings at Emancipate NC at the end of 2020. We’ve had a year that is full of heartbreak. And also full of love. We know so many of you have lost people to COVID-19. We mourn with you. Emancipate NC has also lost loved ones. So many...
Court Appoints Special Master in Ongoing Prison COVID Litigation
We finally have some good news on the prison COVID litigation. On Friday, December 4, 2020, after a hearing in Wake County Superior Court, Judge Vince Rozier, Jr. appointed a Special Master to oversee the state prison's compliance with court orders. The court...
Good White Folks: Get Your Damn People
(My Experience In Advocacy & Why Most White People Today Don’t Believe They Are Racist) by Amanda Anderson, Justice League Fellow The police shootings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others have recently put race at the forefront of...
Emancipate NC Files Amicus Brief Asserting Racial Bias in Jury Selection is Beyond Dispute
Racism is a scourge on North Carolina’s criminal legal system. It renders the system fundamentally unfair at every single step. From decisions about policing, arrest, use of force, bail setting, charging, plea negotiations, jury selection, and sentencing--all of the...
Problems with Policing in Winston-Salem: An Eye Witness Account
By Veronica Bitting, Justice League Fellow When Justice League Fellow Veronica Bitting witnessed police harassing members of her community, she documented it and followed up with a number of local officials including the Winston-Salem Chief of Police. Below is the...
Both Red and Blue States See Major Decriminalization Wins in 2020
by Mandie Sellars, Emancipate NC Board Chair Looking beyond the presidential race, November 3, 2020 marked an important day of progress towards decarcerating the United States. Several states passed measures that legalized either medical or recreational marijuana use,...
A Day in Court with My Mother: A Snapshot of NC’s Broken Justice System
By Erin Blagrove, Justice League Fellow Erin Blagrove is the daughter of Emancipate NC's Executive Director Dawn Blagrove, and a Justice League Fellow. On October 27th, 2020 my mother and I went to court, so my mother could be the defense lawyer for a young, Black man...
Re-evaluating the Cost and Consequences of Cops in Schools
During the month of October 2020, thousands of people are participating in National Youth Justice Awareness Month (YJAM) activities throughout the country. National Youth Justice Awareness Month was created 13 years ago by a Missouri parent, Tracy McClard, whose...
Watch Now: The Impact of Incarceration on Communities, Families, and Children
On October 13, 2020, the Wilson Branch of the NC NAACP hosted a conversation on the impact of incarceration on communities, families, and children, especially in rural NC counties. Speakers included: Attorney Dawn Blagrove, Executive Director of Emancipate NC,...
Surry and Stokes County Judges Prohibit Masks with “Emblems” and Emancipate NC Fights Back
On September 17, 2020, Superior Court Judge Angela B. Puckett and Chief District Court Judge William F. Southern III issued an order prohibiting courthouse attendees in their districts from wearing masks containing any “emblem or writing," possibly due to someone...
Emancipate NC’s Kerwin Pittman Appears on UNC TV’s Black Issues Forum to Discuss Defunding the Police
After a summer of protests demanding changes from law enforcement, the intensity of those demonstrations has waned. But calls for reform have not. On October 15, Emancipate NC's Kerwin Pittman joined UNC TV's Black Issues Forum host Deborah Holt Noel for a discussion...
New Billboards Affirm Black Lives in Harnett County
In late September, Emancipate NC partnered with Breathe (Board for a Racially Equitable Transformed Harnett County) Harnett to raise additional billboards in support of Black lives. The messages on the billboard were crafted by the members of Breath Harnett to empower...
Emancipate NC Working to Make Sure Incarcerated People Get COVID-19 Relief Payments
Emancipate NC is working on efforts to make sure incarcerated people get the CARES Act stimulus funds (COVID-19 payments) they are entitled to. In March and April, it was discovered that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was routinely denying people who were...
A Black Nationalist Upbringing Fueled A Criminal Justice Reformer: Meet Dawn Blagrove
On September 28, WUNC's Amanda Magnus and Frank Stasio interviewed Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove about how her early life and experiences shape her work today. In the interview, Dawn Blagrove discusses discovering her life's work at an early age. As a...