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
A police car with flashing red and blue lights is parked on a street. The background shows a blurred view of trees and a building at dusk.

To Ensure Safe Roads for All, New Jersey Must Eliminate Non-Safety Traffic Stops

Everyone deserves to feel and be safe when they drive.
News & Commentary
Two protest signs are held up against a clear blue sky. One sign reads, "NJ SAYS NO DICE TO ICE!" The other sign says, "Welcome the Stranger - Pope Francis." A construction vehicle and utility wires are visible in the background.

May Day Strong

For more than century, May Day has inspired action and mobilization for social justice movements.
News & Commentary
a protest sign reading "we the people" with the ACLU of New Jersey logo

$200 Should Not Block the Constitutional Right to Counsel

To ensure fair and equal access to the Constitutional right of criminal defense, New Jersey must pass A766/S1670 and end application fees for municipal public defenders. 
Press Release
Press Release ACLU of New Jersey

ACLU-NJ Releases Report Analyzing Statewide Policing Data, Calls for Traffic Stop Reform

The report, New Jersey’s Road to Safety and Racial Justice: Reducing Non-Safety Traffic Stops, urges lawmakers to modernize the traffic code to increase public safety
Legislation
Apr 16, 2026

Eliminate Municipal Public Defender Application Fees (A766/S1670)

A766/S1670 will help create reforms to the criminal legal system that will ensure public defense is accessible and equitable, as the Sixth Amendment promises.