Racial & Economic Justice

The discriminatory history of our country makes racial and economic injustice inextricably linked. Disparities in wealth, income, access to resources, and other economic opportunities remain based on race and ethnicity, preventing us from attaining racial justice.

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The discriminatory history of our country makes racial and economic injustice inextricably linked. Explicit racial restrictions have prevented people of color from accumulating wealth for centuries, and those racial and economic inequities continue to reinforce each other in ways both overt and subtle.

Disparities in wealth, income, access to resources, and other economic opportunities remain based on race and ethnicity, preventing us from attaining racial justice. Covert and overt discrimination, structural inequality, and implicit biases combine to create unacceptable racial gaps in the criminal legal system, housing, employment, education, health care access, and every other realm of civic life.

The ACLU-NJ confronts these deep sources of inequality with advocacy to ensure that opportunity is not allocated according to race or income, and so that all people have equal access to government resources.

The Latest

News & Commentary
Trenton Rally

The People’s Agenda is New Jersey’s Agenda

New Jersey communities are willing – and ready – to keep fighting for their rights.
Press Release
Press Release ACLU of New Jersey

ACLU-NJ Statement on the Inauguration of Governor Mikie Sherrill

The organization has released policy recommendations urging the Sherrill administration to protect and expand civil rights.
Press Release
Press Release ACLU of New Jersey

ACLU-NJ Celebrates Final Round of Releases Under The Clemency Project

The ACLU of New Jersey celebrates Governor Murphy’s announcement today of 51 commutations and 97 pardons, including 16 of the ACLU-NJ's Clemency Project clients.
Press Release
Press Release ACLU of New Jersey

ACLU-NJ Responds to Complaint Against Clark Police Department 

The lawsuit filed by the Attorney General and the Division on Civil Rights against the Clark Police Department sends a clear message: law enforcement must be held accountable for discriminatory and racist practices.
Court Case
Aug 08, 2024

El Comité de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agrícolas (CATA) v Platkin

Affirmative litigation challenging the constitutionality of excluding New Jersey farmworkers from equal wage and overtime pay.
Court Case
Dec 08, 2021

State v. Goldsmith

Amicus brief addressing the standard required for stopping a person on the street, based largely on the character of a neighborhood.
Court Case
Sep 16, 2021

In re: Attorney General Law Enforcement Directive Nos. 2020-05 and 2020-06

Police union challenge to AG directives ordering the public disclosure of the identities of officers sanctioned for serious disciplinary violations.
Court Case
Dec 10, 2021

Rivera v. Union County Prosecutor's Office

Amicus brief arguing that common law requires public access to internal affairs records, where they can be turned over without revealing identity of witnesses.