Blog
Women AdvaNCe names Dawn Blagrove, a Woman to Watch!
by Nicki Faircloth, Women AdvaNCe Women AdvaNCe has named Dawn Blagrove, the Executive Director of Emancipate NC as a Woman to Watch! Dawn is an attorney and attended Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) and North Carolina Central School of Law (woot...
Wilson Gathering Inspires Community to Take Action Against the School-to-Prison Pipeline
On Thursday, January 23, 2020, over 100 residents gathered at Wilson Community College to learn more about the school to prison pipeline in Wilson County, including strategies for better supporting youth of color. The event was entitled “Juvenile Injustice: Pathways...
Executive Director Dawn Blagrove Wins 2020 King Leader Award
At Emancipate NC, we are thrilled to announce that our Executive Director, Dawn Blagrove, has received the 2020 King Leader Award from the Triangle Martin Luther King, Jr. Committee. Below is her winning personal essay, reflecting on how we must, as Dr. Martin Luther...
Our Growing Evolution to EmancipateNC
by Dawn Blagrove, Executive Director The American system of criminal justice is irreparably broken. There is no way to reform a system that cannibalizes the souls of all who have the misfortune to be touched by it. Those two simple truths led Carolina Justice Police...
Can the Taxpayers of Raleigh (or Any Municipality) Afford NOT to Have a Police Oversight Board?
The City of Raleigh is facing another lawsuit because it refuses to take the issue of police accountability seriously. According to WRAL, a 26-year-old woman claims that she was inappropriately touched by RPD officer K.E. Van Althius. A retired police officer who...
Citations Instead of Arrests Lower Wilson County Incarceration Rate
(Read full story from the Public News Service) Police officers in Wilson County are taking steps to reduce the region's high incarceration rate by issuing citations to people for nonviolent misdemeanors, rather than arresting them. Criminal-justice reform advocates...
Emancipate NC Says Law Enforcement Brutalizing Citizens Can Never Be Justified
Emancipate NC, a project of Carolina Justice Policy Center (CJPC), is a statewide criminal justice policy center. In reviewing the cell phone footage of the incident involving 18 year old girl, T’Ziah Kelly, we cannot find any justifiable reason for the level of...
More State-Level Progress Needed to Effectively Address Durham Rise in Gun Violence
By Wyatt Russell, CJPC Fellow On Friday September 13, CJPC fellow Wyatt Russell attended the Crime Cabinet in the Durham County Commission Chambers, and submitted the following reflection. This quarter’s Durham Crime Cabinet showed both progress and a lack thereof....
Police Accountability Scorecard for Raleigh City Elections
ACLU of NC, in partnership with the Carolina Justice Policy Center, North Carolina Asian Americans Together, Raleigh PACT, and El Pueblo, recently researched and released a candidate scorecard of the city of Raleigh officials about their positions on police...
A Black Mother’s Worst Fears
By Attorney Dawn Blagrove, CJPC Executive Director Most Mothers never stop wanting to protect their children from harm. For mothers of Black sons, two of the most dreaded harms are getting sent to prison and dying. With today's plague of mass incarceration across the...
Unlocked Up by endlesswill (poetry from Poetic Justice 2019)
When the convictionA mere sentencingTakes away more than the prescribed commitmentDoes it matter the crime?And more so Who is really the victim?As the judge Is so quick to judgeRuled By the rules that hold us and knows that what really hold usIs that No one can really...
Poetic Justice Preview Held for the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham
On June 27, 2019, CJPC staff previewed Poetic Justice at the monthly meeting of the Religious Coalition for a Nonviolent Durham. RCND is an organization comprised of individuals, who as an expression of their faith and goodwill, come alongside neighbors most-affected...
Take Time to Watch the Disturbing, yet Necessary “When They See Us”
by Sierra Riley, Student at Ravenscroft High School and CJPC Intern The Netflix documentary series When They See Us is disturbing, but necessary to watch. The film not only shares the story of the Central Park Five, it brings awareness to the broken legal system which...
Announcing Our 2019 Poetic Justice Event
On July 13, 2019 at 3:00 pm in the Durham Friends Meeting located at 404 Alexander Avenue in Durham, the Carolina Justice Policy Center will host their Second Annual Poetic Justice storytelling event. In this powerful event, criminal justice advocates will collaborate...
CJPC Executive Director Joins Local Activists to Demand Accountability from Raleigh Police
On June 4, 2019, CJPC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove joined fellow activists in front of city hall to demand accountability from the Raleigh Police Department in the wake of Soheil Maharrad's recent death. Blagrove was joined by Rolanda Byrd (Raleigh PACT), Faisal...