Blog
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...
Emancipate NC and Allies Rally Against Corruption
Protesters gathered in downtown Raleigh, starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 26. The rally was organized by Emancipate NC alongside coalition partners Raleigh Demands Justice, Save our Sons, and PACT Fayetteville. The rally, Uncover North Carolina: An...
Why Qualified Immunity for Cops Must Be Stopped: The Story of Malaika Brooks
The 2004 story of Malaika Brooks is a powerful look at exactly why we need to get rid of qualified immunity for police officers.
Tilmon Golphin’s Life Matters: NC Supreme Court Ruling Gives Him and Others Reprieve from Death Row
by Dawn Blagrove, Executive Director In 1997, Tilmon Golphin was a 19-year-old child. (Above, Tilmon Golphin’s uncle holds a childhood photo of Tilmon and his family). No different from the ones parents cry over as they leave for college. Friends and family use words...
Exploring the Youth Justice Election Perspective
NJJN Membership Advisory Council Member Jorren Biggs talks with Emancipate NC's Justice Fellow Aneesha Tucker and California Youth Activist and Policy Organizer Ronaldo Villeda about the election, innovation, and imagining safer spaces for youth....
Community Members Demand Cooper Release Incarcerated People at Risk of COVID-19
COVID-19 has spread rampantly through North Carolina’s state prisons, leaving thousands of incarcerated people infected and 12 dead. Still, NC Governor Roy Cooper has not commuted a single sentence during his 4-year term, and more than 2,000 who’ve completed their...