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Here at , we are committed to our beliefs in the potential of people to make great things--and in the ability of people to make great change. Advancement Project is a multicultural organization that promotes racial justice and equity specifically for BIPOC. BIPOC community that was established by NAACP leadership over twenty years ago.

contributed the sum of $100,000 for Advancement Project as part of our 2020 pledge to help organisations working on social justice reform with a focus on education, people impacted by incarceration, and ending the pipeline from prison to school. For the next two years, we're planning to give $250,000 from the social justice budget pledged in 2020.

We spoke to Advancement Project's Executive Director Judith Browne Dianis, about how the organization supports local communities and creates community power for communities of color.

: As Executive Director of the Advancement Project, what inspired you to get involved in the organization?

Jennifer Browne Dianis: I was raised within Hollis, Queens by two Harlem residents: one was an educator and community leader and the other, an active member of the country's separated Army. When I was a child Black woman, my parents did not just teach me a sense of right and wrong, however, they taught me the importance of justice. This important lesson--along with protesting racism as a student at the University of Pennsylvania and surviving job discrimination--prompted me to pursue a career in movement lawyering. I received my law degree from Columbia University School of Law and was awarded the Skadden Fellowship, and went into the position of Director of the Washington, D.C. office of the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund.

I was a part of the Advancement Project at its inception around 1999. We worked alongside local organizations in order to run effective campaigns through litigation, advocacy, as well as communications. My job, and the mission that is done by the Advancement Project, has been focused on building the power of communities of color to ensure that we're free, and are able to thrive, feel safe, and exercise the power of our own.

SQSP: As part of your job, Advancement Project supports grassroots organisations that are fighting for racial as well as social justice within their respective communities. What kind of impact has been observed in the work you've done in bringing about change on an individual level?

JBD Advancement Project chooses project initiatives, national or local, that have the ability to increase power at the grassroots as well as to redefine and further advance the fight for equality in the race. Legal action is only one element to fight a larger battle in favor of our organizers. We do not shy away when it comes to difficult topics and the first to respond in civil rights-related crises as well as on the cutting edge of issues relating to racial justice.

The purpose of our efforts is to empower local activists and link their movements to those across the country. In the days leading up to Mother's Day, we worked with our partners in Michigan to increase the visibility of their 2021 black Mamas Bailout Campaign project. The campaign highlighted the stories of seven mothers who've been imprisoned. We used our social media channels to increase engagement back to the campaign and raise funds to cover the fines, bail, and other fees for Black mothers, Black women, gender-nonconforming persons, as well as fem(me)s and bring them home to their families.

Part of our success depends the building of relationships with younger people and stakeholders, especially locally. As such, we cooperate with organizations from Washington, D.C. and Maryland which were inspired by George Floyd's murder and the uprisings of summer 2020. The young people reached out for support in both understanding how to be organized in their community and also what they can do to create their own school-based campaigns that are police-free. To aid with their political education and training, we held several "Organizing 101" teach-ins, which helped the organizations gain a foundation in base building, leadership development, planning strategies, as well as campaign development.

Our entire work is centered on building power in local communities. This can be observed through those who exercise their rights to vote. As we have seen countless bills in almost fifty states after the elections of 2020, in order to increase the obstacles to voting and to make it more difficult for voters to step up and do steps to take. We filed suits to both Georgia and Florida as two of the first states to introduce laws. In particular, focusing at the way that many legislation targets the key engines of democracy within communities of color--namely the Black churches and Latinx civic organizations, we brought huge coalitions together to oppose these bills. In a landmark ruling, the judge ruled in our favor in three of our four claims. This means that Florida does not have to limit what, when and how drop boxes can be used and conduct around polling places designed to provide relief for those waiting in long lines cannot be criminalized. In addition, the judge has decreed 10-year pre-clearance by his court to make any amendments regarding voting laws.

SQSP: In this age of social media, it's easy to be connected now more than ever before. How has tech been able to aid grassroots groups' efforts?

JBD: The use of social media is an important tool in seeking equality for all people. The Advancement Project uses it as a part of a broader narrative strategy for shifting the way people think, what they believe, how they act, and also the way they view issues like police and incarceration, voter registration as well as education. Most of our society's deeply accepted beliefs are recited everywhere and at all times, including on social media. That's why they are so inseparable. This is why it's important for us to make strategic interventions using social media in our strategy.

Social media allows us to promote the stories and voices of organizations that are grassroots and that are at the forefront of a movement. We also educate people about issues and break down the way that systems and laws affect or affect communities of color. We utilize it as an opportunity to build the demands of our local and national communities by providing a platform for groups, activists and everyday people to demand justice.

SQSP: As well as community-based work, your organization has a presence at an international scale, making policy change, supporting initiatives, and connecting allies to increase the size of the cause. What are a few of your most significant changes over the last couple of years that have had a broader impact on the BIPOC society in the United States?

JBD: Even though we've been aware for a long time that backlashes happen as communities of color acquire the power they need, we were stunned by the volume and intensity that we experienced in all our projects during the last couple of years.

Following a Presidential election with a record turn-out, particularly in communities that are racially diverse, legislatures across 48 states introduced 389 "voter integrity" legislation in the 2021 session. While many might see this as a singular occasion, we recognize that this is just the latest of a string of attacks on the underlying principle of our multiracial democracy voting rights. Despite these impediments however, we continue to follow our theory of changethat demands a mixture of litigation, campaign building as well as support for communications.

The summer of 2020 the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor have created a huge momentum in the direction of reforming police services, such as eliminating the funds for the police. Through our discussions with colleagues on the ground, we have realized that although paying attention to the most prominent instances is crucial, it is more vital for more lawyers with experience to collaborate with movements.

To meet this demand, we released a video series entitled "How Cops Get Off" in early June of this year along with our microsite, policefreecommunities.org where people can watch the videos and learn more about our work around policing. The narration is by board member of AP actor, and political activist Jesse Williams, each four-minute video of the series breaks the major structures of our society and the laws that keep cops in power and unaccountable the predominant narrative that is featured in films, TV, and news; the protectors within our criminal legal system including prosecutors, police organizations; and statutes that keep police from accountability. This includes the law of qualified immunity.

We created this series because the value of Black lives cannot be based on a verdict when policing procedures as well as the criminal justice system protects the police rather than us. This series centers around a six-week-long culture change campaign which will not just drive people to watch and share the videos, as well as to participate in conversations about our current system and to push for action with our local partners in the grassroots who are pushing for new models of security.

SQSP: Being able to connect passionate lawyers, organizers, and experts in communication is not an task that is easy. What do you think of advancements made in Advancement Project's implementation of its "Theory of Change," and what are your expectations for the future?

JBD's goal is to create a world where Black, Latinx, AAPI and Indigenous people can live freely and are safe. In the last 20 years, we've helped to weave together movements and provide the conditions for major breakthroughs in race. Serving as a convener to build momentum beyond place, we continue to hold the opportunity to study from each other and create strength through legal action and policy-making, as well as strategic campaigns as well as support for communications, as well as shaping the narrative exposing the problem as well as pointing out solutions.

Yet our work is not done. The best part about our present is that it's still not complete. That is the only certain aspect about it. What I have seen from our partners in the local community in the trenches fighting for justice each day gives me hope for an opportunity to prosper.

SQSP: What can people who want to be involved in the Advancement Project's mission get involved?

JBD: People can become part of our movement by signing up at our website on this page or by making a donation to support our work by clicking here. To keep updated on the progress we make, people can connect with us via our Twitter account, Facebook and Instagram..