June 2020
Georgia Appleseed Stands with Black Lives Matter

The conditions that lead to the unnecessary deaths of Black people like George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Rayshard Brooks--and countless others--are the same conditions that created and nurture the school-to-prison pipeline, which Georgia Appleseed seeks to dismantle.

Georgia’s public schools are more likely to single out Black students for discipline and are harsher with them when they do. As a result, Black children are approximately two times more likely than students of other races to receive out-of-school suspensions and expulsions. Kicking these children out of school dramatically increases the likelihood that they will enter the juvenile justice system. Black students are not treated like their white counterparts. Our children know this, and it unjustly burdens them with fear and stress.

What Is the School-to-Prison Pipeline? How Do We Dismantle It?

In this short video Georgia Appleseed Director Michael Waller shares the factors that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline along with what it will take to dismantle it.

This video was generously filmed and produced by our friends at 1 Accord Media . It is one of a series of education videos being coordinated by the Interfaith Children's Movement .
Race, Law Enforcement, and the Law Report Update

Georgia Appleseed is working with pro bono partners to revisit and update our policy   recommendations  to end over-policing and the excessive use of force by police against Black Georgians. We   will publish updates in the coming weeks. Unfortunately, most of these recommendations were not adopted at the state or local levels in Georgia when published in 2016. 

We hope our updated recommendations will support current efforts led by people of color to fundamentally change Georgia law enforcement so that it serves and supports all Georgians.
Shining the Pro Bono Light on Chris Middleton

Christopher K. Middleton,  Cox, Rodman &  Middleton  LLC , has partnered with Georgia Appleseed on a variety of projects over the past several years. Chris recently led a  Healthy Housing Project  listening session in Savannah to help Georgia Appleseed gain insight about housing-related challenges and opportunities in that city. Chris guided participants from a broad diversity of backgrounds through an engaged conversation that touched on housing limitations in Savannah, the link between healthy housing and success of children in school, and current challenges during the COVID-19 crisis. Chris’ partnership and pro bono support is greatly appreciated, and the insights through this listening session will aid Georgia Appleseed in its continued policy work to strengthen healthy housing statewide.

Georgia Appleseed pro bono projects support Georgia children struggling against poverty, disability, and systemic bias and racism. The COVID-19 pandemic magnifies these challenges. Children have lost critical access to education and safe school environments. The threat of eviction, unsafe housing, and homelessness grows every day as the pandemic puts their parents out of work.

If you are interested in supporting our projects through pro bono work please fill out this short form   and we will be in touch. Questions? Contact Caroline Durham at   cdurham@gaappleseed.org .
The Georgia Appleseed Young Professionals Council will once again host their annual Spellbound for Justice! fundraiser on July 16, 2020 , from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Register online by July 10, 2020, at https://bit.ly/Spellbound2020
Welcome, Summer Interns

This summer, Georgia Appleseed welcomes a virtual “full-house” of interns, who will be working to promote justice for Georgia’s children.

The following law students will be focused on our healthy housing initiatives:
  • Brittany Ewing, GSU College of Law, Systems Summer Institute
  • Kyla Howard, New England Law, Systems Summer Institute
  • Yiyang Mei, Emory University School of Law
  • Christian Shaheen, GSU College of Law, Systems Summer Institute

The following law students will be focused on dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline:
  • Katharine Healy Tabachnick, Emory University School of Law, Barton Center 
  • Joseph Pinto, Emory University School of Law
  • Victoria Miller, Emory University School of Law

Some of the projects they’ll be working on include studying best practices for healthy housing coalitions in other states, researching restorative justice models for school discipline, and revamping our Student Tribunal Project training manual.
Georgia Appleseed Needs Your Support

At Georgia Appleseed, we focus on dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline and advocating for healthy housing because we believe these areas are powerful leverage points for meaningful, systemic change.

If you would like to join us in creating systemic change, please make a donation today. A gift or pledge prior to June 30, 2020 (the end of our fiscal year) would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your support!
Additional Resources

In recognition of the incredible impact COVID-19 is having on our lives and throughout our communities, we are continuing to share resources on our social media channels and our website . Below are a handful of resource lists gathered by trusted partners, which we hope will help connect people to the resources they need at this time:

  • GECC— Visit our Georgia Education Climate Coalition (GECC) page for information about partner organization's upcoming webinars and trainings.
  • 211—Calling 211 or searching the website can help you find food, pay housing bills, access childcare, and more.
  • Atlanta Legal Aid—This resource list includes information about court closings, emergency food help, and more.
  • Georgia Department of Education—This DOE site includes links to school closure information and online learning resources.
  • Voices for Georgia’s Children—Voices has put together a robust list of news and resources around COVID-19, including financial resources, food assistance, closures, guidance on talking to children about the pandemic, and more.
  • Children's Healthcare of Atlanta—CHOA's Strong4Life resource page provides parenting guidance for the COVID-19 era, including how to talk about social distancing with kids, avoiding injuries during isolation, and much more.

We'd also like to share additional links that are helping us think about justice-related issues of the day: