Racial & Economic Justice

The discriminatory history of our country makes racial and economic injustice inextricably linked. Disparities in wealth, income, access to resources, and other economic opportunities remain based on race and ethnicity, preventing us from attaining racial justice.

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The discriminatory history of our country makes racial and economic injustice inextricably linked. Explicit racial restrictions have prevented people of color from accumulating wealth for centuries, and those racial and economic inequities continue to reinforce each other in ways both overt and subtle.

Disparities in wealth, income, access to resources, and other economic opportunities remain based on race and ethnicity, preventing us from attaining racial justice. Covert and overt discrimination, structural inequality, and implicit biases combine to create unacceptable racial gaps in the criminal legal system, housing, employment, education, health care access, and every other realm of civic life.

The ACLU-NJ confronts these deep sources of inequality with advocacy to ensure that opportunity is not allocated according to race or income, and so that all people have equal access to government resources.

The Latest

News & Commentary
Black Lives Matter is handwritten in thick black on a white poster and held at a rally

Five Years After George Floyd, The Cry for Racial Justice and Police Accountability Remains

The 2020 protests following Floyd’s murder demonstrated the potential for confronting police violence in communities of color. Yet half a decade later, the legislative response has still fallen short.
News & Commentary
Save Medicaid Townhall on photo of capital building with ACLU-NJ logo in lower right corner

Protect Medicaid: Watch ACLU-NJ's Virtual Town Hall on Federal Cuts to Health Care

15 million people with disabilities are enrolled in Medicaid, and the House of Representatives just voted to cut $800 billion from this life-saving program.
News & Commentary
ACLU-NJ Policy Counsel DuWuan Norwood testifies at the Summit City Council.

As Summit Considers Banning Sleeping in Public Spaces, Community Members Demand More Humane Policies

For the city council to address homelessness humanely, members must focus on ensuring easily accessible shelters and resources for those experiencing homelessness, not further criminalizing vulnerable people.
News & Commentary
Joint and Grinder bud cannabis with crushed cannabis flowers

Years After Cannabis Legalization in New Jersey, We’re Still Pushing for Equitable Community Reinvestment

As we approach 4/20, we’re reminded of the strides we’ve made to address the harms of the failed drug war in New Jersey over the past few years. But we know there is still more to do to further policies and programs that promote public health and racial justice.
Court Case
Aug 08, 2024

El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (CATA) v Platkin

Affirmative litigation challenging the constitutionality of excluding New Jersey farmworkers from equal wage and overtime pay.
Court Case
Dec 08, 2021

State v. Goldsmith

Amicus brief addressing the standard required for stopping a person on the street, based largely on the character of a neighborhood.
Court Case
Jul 02, 2018

Kneisser v. McInerney

Challenge to a man put in jail for not paying a fine for littering same day as court date.
Court Case
Jun 29, 2018

In re N.J.A.C. 6A:8

Challenge to discriminatory regulations requiring certain scores on PARCC standardized tests to receive a diploma.