Five Precepts for Social Justice
Equality continues to elude most Louisianans in the areas of housing access, quality public education, economic justice (e.g., fair credit and consumer protection), voting rights, employment opportunities, and fair working conditions. If LJI were to employ only traditional methods of legal advocacy to address these problems, a focused effort in any one of these areas could occupy the full attention of a small staff. Instead, LJI economizes its resources and accomplishes its goals by enlisting existing legal talent within the state and recruiting additional resources to supplement local efforts.
As the social justice campaigns develop in one community, LJI will insure that these campaigns benefit from statewide support networks of grassroots groups and legal resources, which comprise the statewide social justice “infrastructure” for Louisiana. It is through this infrastructure that LJI identifies social justice challenges, responding with legal and political resources. Eventually LJI hopes Louisiana will reach the social justice “tipping point,” where the social justice infrastructure becomes self-sustaining with campaigns that have sufficient resources to combat social injustice, as those challenges are identified.
LJI bases its work on 5 Precepts, which are integrally related to core principles of social justice. LJI believes a community shared vision for social justice, combined with the opportunity and resolve to bring lasting change will produce genuine, equitable renewal to Louisiana.
- COMMUNITY-LED ORGANIZING: LJI incubates and grows community-identified social justice campaigns statewide through a network of partners, including churches and community organizations, corporations, and law firms;
- STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS: LJI works to facilitate the networking and sharing resources between community groups, community leaders, legal and other resource organizations locally, statewide, nationally and internationally;
- SHARED RESEARCH, MEDIA, AND TECHNOLOGY: LJI provides material support to its networks and partners by employing social science research to produce policy reports and issue briefs that identify barriers to social justice and introduce effective legal and other strategies for adoption and adaptation in Louisiana. Further, LJI supports its partners by working with the local, national and international media – mainstream and alternative press – to communicate our community’s realities, struggles, and vision for a better Louisiana. In addition, the LJI office in New Orleans currently makes available its office equipment and office space to community partners.
- EMPOWERMENT TRAINING: LJI provides hands-on training regarding voting rights and civic engagement, public education, housing, workers’ rights, health care, and criminal justice. Community members gain knowledge about these specific issues in workshops focused on community-based advocacy. LJI works with community groups to build and train a cadre of leadership, who will then be able to train others, with an eye toward strengthening state-wide social justice advocacy efforts.
- IMPACT LITIGATION: LJI attorneys appreciate the power of litigation when grass-roots advocacy fails. The strategic use of litigation can bring about dramatic social change and reform, and LJI will continue its aggressive use of litigation, especially the use of class actions, on behalf of its partners to bring reform to Louisiana’s impoverished communities and communities of color.
