Southern Center for Human Rights

08/30/2026

As August comes to a close, we want to remind everyone it's National Make-A-Will month! Often making a will is inaccessible, and many people don't have estate plans in place to protect their loved ones and leave gifts to the charities that are near and dear to their hearts. If you would like access to free estate planning tools, visit FreeWill, where you can set up your will at no cost in a matter of minutes!

FreeWill lets you make your last will and testament quick, easy, and completely free. It is a simple online legal will maker that helps you compile will forms to print and sign, or to take as a basic will template to an estate planning lawyer. FreeWill is built alongside will making experts.

08/27/2026

The Southern Center for Human Rights is honored to recognize Sister Helen Prejean at the 50 Years Forward Gala with the Human Rights Award in recognition of her tireless, transformative work to end the death penalty.

Known around the world for her courageous advocacy, Sister Helen has helped spark a national dialogue on capital punishment and played a pivotal role in shaping the Catholic Church’s opposition to executions.

Her groundbreaking memoir, Dead Man Walking, brought the realities of the death penalty into the public view and has since been adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, a play, the most-performed new opera of the 21st century, and most recently, a graphic edition.

For decades, Sister Helen has given voice to those on death row and challenged us to confront the human cost of the death penalty.

SCHR is proud to honor her legacy of courage, compassion, and justice as we look 50 Years Forward on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.

Link for more information: https://www.schr.org/50yearsforward/

08/26/2026

📢 BIG NEWS: The People’s Voice Act has officially been introduced!

Join us tomorrow, August 27 at 7:00 PM for a community town hall at the SCHR office to talk about what this means for our communities. We’ll share updates, answer questions, and discuss the path forward.

Councilmember Kelsea Bond, a key champion of this legislation, will join us at the townhall to talk about the legislation and answer your questions. Councilmember Bond's leadership and commitment have been instrumental in advancing this effort, and we look forward to recognizing their work alongside other councilmembers who have been invited to join the conversation.

Register here: https://form.jotform.com/262246459427060
Light refreshments will be served.

Date: August 27, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: SCHR, 60 Walton St NW, Atlanta, Ga 30303

08/25/2026

Have you thought about creating a will, but unsure of where to start? Not knowing where to begin is one of the major barriers to creating a will. Estate planning plays a critical role in creating financial stability for families and supporting their charitable giving while shrinking the racial wealth gap. Consumer reports tells us that significantly more people of color do not have a will compared to white people with 77% of Black people, and 82% of Latinx people having no wills. At SCHR, we value resource sharing as a critical part of the work we do. August is National Make a Will Month and Black Philanthropy Month, so we wanted to make sure you know about FreeWill. Check out their resources, which can help guide you through the process of establishing your will at no cost.

FreeWill lets you make your last will and testament quick, easy, and completely free. It is a simple online legal will maker that helps you compile will forms to print and sign, or to take as a basic will template to an estate planning lawyer. FreeWill is built alongside will making experts.

08/17/2026

We are grateful for the introduction of the People’s Voice Act at the Atlanta City Council today. This legislation will strengthen public participation and safeguard against the arbitrary restriction of speech during council meetings.

Hear from our campaign partners on why they support the People’s Voice Act and learn more about the People’s Voice Campaign at https://www.schr.org/peoplesvoice

Join us at our Community Town Hall on Thursday, August 27th at 7:00 pm to share and hear why accessible public comment is critical to local policy and protecting against the erosion of democracy. More information is at the end of this reel.

07/30/2026

On the 50th anniversary of Gregg v. Georgia, a reflection on joining the fight against a death penalty system whose promise of fairness has never matched its reality.

Truth-telling in the Shadow of Gregg by SCHR attorney, Kendell Long, is now live on our Substack. https://thesoutherncenter.substack.com/p/truth-telling-in-the-shadow-of-gregg

07/15/2026

Daily Recap: SCHR's Policy Unit on the Road

The PPU attended a Reentry Town Hall in Savannah, hosted by the DEEP Center, the anchor partner for the Southeast chapter of the Justice Reform Partnership. This space provided an important platform for justice-impacted people to share their experiences and for community members, advocates, and local stakeholders to engage in an honest conversation about the challenges and opportunities surrounding reentry.

Creating environments where impacted voices lead the conversation is essential to building stronger communities and advancing meaningful change. Thank you to the DEEP Center for convening this powerful discussion and helping move the conversation on reentry forward.

07/14/2026

This week, SCHR's public policy unit is on the road for fieldwork to meet with current partners and to strengthen and build relationships to support our organizing, coalition, and legislative advocacy work in southeast Georgia. Stay tuned throughout the week for updates!

07/02/2026

July 2nd marks the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Gregg v. Georgia (1976).

In Gregg, the Court upheld as constitutional the newly crafted death penalty statutes of several states and paved the way for the resumption of executions the following year.

Since the ruling, more than 1,600 people have been executed nationwide. Importantly, the arbitrary application, racism, exonerations, and cost of the death penalty have led to several states choosing to abolish the practice.

Further, public support for the death penalty is at a five-decade low with opposition to the death penalty nearly tripling over the past 30 years.

In the wake of Gregg, a group of ministers and advocates founded the Southern Center for Human Rights. Their mission is to confront the injustices embedded in the criminal legal system of the Deep South.

Fifty years later, that mission remains unchanged — equality, dignity, and justice for people impacted by the system.

Stay tuned to our social accounts and Substack this month as we reflect more on Gregg and its impact.

06/19/2026

On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas learned they were free. Juneteenth reminds us that freedom has never arrived all at once. It has always required people willing to fight for it, protect it, and extend it to others.

At the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR), we see that truth every single day. Through Project Freedom, SCHR has helped nearly 100 men and women across the Deep South return home after serving extreme prison sentences. One of those men is James Dennard.

After spending 24 years in prison serving a life without parole sentence, Mr. Dennard was resentenced and released in 2017. Today, he is a homeowner, a supervisor, a mentor, and a source of support for others navigating reentry. Knowing firsthand that community leads to stability, Mr. Dennard helps people, including two former SCHR clients, find stable employment because he understands that freedom is more than release. It’s the opportunity to build a life.

His story reminds us that liberation is not just a moment in history. It’s an ongoing responsibility. As we commemorate Juneteenth, we honor the tradition of freeing one another and lifting up stories like Mr. Dennard’s. We name that today’s carceral system is a direct descendent of the same systems of racial justice that made Juneteenth necessary. And we press forward with the knowledge that the struggle for true freedom continues.

As poet Gwendolyn Brooks wrote, “We are each other’s harvest. We are each other’s business. We are each other’s magnitude and bond.”

May we carry that spirit forward not only today, but every day.