Learning for Justice
Learning for Justice is a community education program of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) that cultivates and nurtures dialogue, learning, reflection and action from those closest to and harmed most by injustices in the South.
The program seeks to uphold the mission of the Southern Poverty Law Center: to be a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance the human rights of all people. By centering civic and political action education for everyone, Learning for Justice will complement the SPLC’s work to increase power and capacity for multiracial, inclusive democracy.
The political backlash to the ongoing movement for racial justice and equity in the United States has led to anti-inclusive laws, incubated in the South and becoming widespread in multiple state legislations, boards of education and local school districts. This current anti-inclusive agenda limits the opportunity for discourse around the realities of Black and Brown children, their families and communities. Learning for Justice will support the SPLC’s work for justice to counter these attempts to minimize the learning of Black and Brown children and the significance of their communities as sites for learning.
Community Justice Sites
The education of ordinary people for local autonomy is the cornerstone of LFJ’s community education program. Community Justice Sites are Freedom Schools and Citizenship Schools for everyone. Our community-based pedagogy will ultimately support community movement led by local leadership. Programming includes the following:
- Civic and Political Action Learning for Everyone to engage in dialogue and learning on what’s needed for a shared commitment to justice through information sharing, critical consciousness raising, civics learning and strategic calls to action.
- Youth Learning for Justice for teens and young adults to learn honest history, understand servant leadership and take steps toward entry into the movement for racial and social justice.
- Growing Together for Children and Families to cultivate the values of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion through learning activities and stories as steppingstones toward resisting hate and strengthening democracy.
The Learning Center
The Learning Center is LFJ’s online popular education space for everyone (adults, youth and children), offering learning for civic and political action. It continues our Community Justice Sites programming in our Southern states and extends our resources to a national audience. When we “learn for justice,” we center learning to inform our actions for change and progress in our communities.
Political, social and economic equality have yet to be achieved. And the increasing pushback against a more inclusive society challenges us all to become more conscious about the knowledge and skills to participate in democracy.
Come learn with us to strengthen democracy, counter hate and bias and build a more just society.
[Updated Sept. 2024]