Blog
Stop Arresting Us
Photo depicts Kristie Puckett-Williams and Kerwin Pittman in handcuffs, but undaunted, in Elizabeth City, NC, after being arrested in the course of protests. Police arrested Emancipate NC Organizer Kerwin Pittman and Emancipate NC Board Member Kristie...
Free Lester Kearney
Photo depicts Emancipate NC Advocate Cierra Cobb speaking to WRAL after Mr. Kearney's bond hearing in Warrenton, NC on May 20, 2021. A criminal justice system void of justice is just criminal. Mr. Lester Kearney, Sr. is a victim of a criminal system, so deeply...
Has Mr. Kearney Been Tried In The Media?
Bond Motion Reveals That Defendant in Lake Gaston Home Invasion May Be Innocent; Has Been Unfairly Tried In the Media Warrenton, NC, May 20, 2021--Countless sensational news stories have already convicted Lester Kearney of the capital murder of Dr. Nancy Alford in the...
Emancipate NC Supports Elizabeth City
On April 21, Pasquotank County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr. Since that date, Emancipate NC staff members, Board, and Justice League Fellows have been on the ground--protesting, bailing out arrested people, coordinating with NLG Legal Observers,...
Emancipate NC Sues Cops On Behalf of Ms. Bottom
In May 2019, a 68-year-old Black woman named Stephanie Bottom was pulled over by officers from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office and the Salisbury Police Department. The officers were attempting to conduct a traffic stop, as Bottom was allegedly driving 80 mph in a...
End Juvenile Life Without Parole
On May 6, Emancipate NC filed an amicus curiae brief in the North Carolina Supreme Court in support of Darrell Tristan Anderson, a Black man who was sentenced to life in prison for crimes he committed when he was a 17-year-old child. We urge the Court to prohibit...
The Verdict Is In
Photo credit: bgrocker / Shutterstock.com The verdict is in. The criminal justice system worked to hold one man accountable for the heartless murder of another man. That should not be something we have to celebrate. That is what a just system does. But the American...
Tablets With Legal Resources Coming to NC Prisons
Emancipate NC Community Organizer Kerwin Pittman is the justice-impacted member of the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice (TREC) established by Governor Roy Cooper. This week, NCDPS officials shared at a TREC subcommittee meeting that they will be...
“Who’s Next?”: Another Heartbreaking Week For Black Lives
The following is a re-print of a piece by Joel Brown for ABC 11, published on April 13, 2021, featuring Emancipate NC staff Kerwin Pittman and Dawn Blagrove. The original piece can be located here. Many police reform advocates in the Triangle are frustrated, losing...
A Story About Protest Defense in Wilmington, NC
My name is Vanessa Gonzalez. For the last decade, my day job has been as an immigration attorney, assisting undocumented folx to obtain immigration status and avoid deportation. Since my college years, I have participated in numerous protests and demonstrations. It...
Open Letter to Josh Stein
N.C. Attorney General Josh Stein, Chair of the Racial Equity Task Force, Has Been a Disappointment to Racial Justice Advocates. We Challenge Him to Do Better. A Call to Action from Emancipate NC, March 30, 2021 Governor Cooper’s appointment of Attorney General Josh...
Josh Stein: Respect Racial Justice
On Tuesday, March 30, 2021, at 10 am, Emancipate NC will hold a virtual press conference via Zoom to share an open letter to Attorney General Josh Stein. Speakers include Emancipate NC Executive Director, Attorney Dawn Blagrove, Emancipate NC staff attorney Ian...
Update on the COVID Motel
Following an intervention from Emancipate NC, the NC Department of Public Safety announced changes to procedures at its “COVID motel” in Durham, which the department has used since late 2020 to quarantine people being released from DPS custody. The changes are in...
Raleigh Demands Justice Calls for Defunding the Police
by Kate Evans, Emancipate NC Intern Raleigh Demands Justice holds virtual press conference following resignation of Raleigh Police Advisory Board members On March 10, two members of the Raleigh Police Advisory Board resigned. Scotia Burrell and Stacey Carless, former...
Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! This week, Emancipate clients Shannon Nyamodi (second from right, pictured with his mother) and Sandy Dowell (left, pictured with her wife) were given release papers from state prison, after months of relentless advocacy. Sandy served 30 years in...