Last month, Chrystul Kizer took a plea deal in a case that began when, at the age of 17, she, a Black girl, killed the 34-year-old white man who had sexually assaulted her.   Wisconsin’s Supreme Court had previously ruled that Kizer could use a Wisconsin law intended to protect trafficking victims as part of her defense. That 2008 law shields trafficking victims from being punished for crimes committed as a direct result of having been trafficked.   Chrystul Kizer is a child sex-trafficking victim and survivor. She is now facing up to 20 years in prison for surviv ..read more

As we celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride this month, we’re also spotlighting the disproportionate impact that many government systems—including the foster care, juvenile legal, & criminal legal systems—have had on the LGBTQ+ community, especially Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people, for years. Black LGBTQ+ women, girls, and gender-expansive people are at greater risk for victimization  We know from too many headlines, which research backs up, that LGBTQ people are disproportionately impacted by violent victimization.  LGBTQ+ youth have been threatened or inj ..read more

The National Black Women’s Justice Institute’s Book Club spotlights books by Black women that highlight the real impact of incarceration on Black women and girls. There’s so much to learn, and it can be hard to know where to start. So join us, read with us, and learn along with us! It’s very simple with no pressure: We choose one book every few months. You read at your own pace. We share guiding questions for you to think about as you read. You can engage with other readers online (on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook). As we finish the book, join us for a conversation with ..read more

Black girls were the only group of girls to be overrepresented in every type of disciplinary action. Across the United States, schools use various punitive discipline practices that result in students being removed from class, such as suspensions, expulsions, transfers to an alternative education setting, or referrals to law enforcement. These practices weaken students’ connection with school by depriving students of valuable learning time and creating an environment that erodes students’ well-being and sense of safety at school. These students often end up pushed out of school altogether ..read more

In the United States, Black women have long experienced disparities in health and healthcare that continue to persist today. Black women not only generally have shorter life expectancies, higher maternal mortality rates, and higher prevalence of health conditions such as heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, anemia, and stress compared to non-Hispanic white and Latinx women, but they are also disproportionately incarcerated. Incarceration has been shown to be a social determinant of health and an underlying cause of the persistent inequities in overall health, reproductive health, and men ..read more

California annually releases more women from prisons and jails than any other state. Women represent 20% of the total share of annual releases from the state’s prisons and local jails, and from 2009 to 2019, 1 in 4 people released from California prisons were Black. When people are released from incarceration, community reentry centers or reentry programs are meant to help people successfully “reenter” society and reduce the risk of returning to jail or prison through support services such as assistance in finding and maintaining employment and housing. However, most of these reentry services ..read more

The National Black Women’s Justice Institute released the following statement from Executive Director Dr. Sydney McKinney responding to Blendon Township (Ohio) police shooting and killing 21-year-old Black woman Ta’Kiya Young: The police shooting and killing of 21-year-old Ta’Kiya Young is appalling. We are once again faced with the consequences of overzealous policing and unnecessary police violence that all too frequently take the life of Black women. This should have never happened, and Ta’Kiya should be with us today. Instead, children lost their mother, a family lost a daughter and grandd ..read more

Eight years ago this month, Sandra Bland was pulled over by state police for failing to signal a lane change. After a few exchanges between Bland and state trooper Brian T. Encinia, which Bland herself recorded on her phone, the encounter escalated, and Encinia ultimately arrested Bland. Three days later, Bland was found dead in her Texas jail cell. What happened? How do we go from a simple traffic stop for failing to signal a lane change to the loss of someone's life? The consequences of “simple” police stops are anything but simple. We know that what many consider “routine, everyday” traffi ..read more

Every June, we celebrate Pride month alongside our LGBTQ family, friends, and allies. But as more bans and anti-LGBTQ laws and policies are passed, we are also reminded of the disproportionate impact that many government systems—including the foster care, juvenile legal, and criminal legal systems—have had on lesbian, bisexual, trans, and queer (LBTQ) girls and women of color, especially Black women and girls, for years. Black LBTQ women and girls are at greater risk for victimization, criminalization, & punishment. Black LBTQ Women, Girls, & Gender Nonconforming People Disproportiona ..read more

Today the National Black Women’s Justice Institute celebrates the emancipation of Black people in the United States. Without a doubt, we are our ancestors’ wildest dreams. But the work is not done. We must continue our struggle for liberation by dismantling the social, political, and economic constraints that deny us access to safety and wellbeing. NBWJI is steadfast in our commitment to the liberation of Black people in the United States, especially Black women and girls who are directly impacted by the criminal and juvenile legal systems. The systemic criminalization and punishment of Black ..read more