Second Chance Federation Launches in Charlotte to Restore Rights for Formerly Incarcerated People

 
 

Second Chance Federation is a new nonprofit law firm in Charlotte built on the premise that reentry support has to be sustained, not episodic. The organization helps people with felony convictions restore voting rights, reinstate driver's licenses, and clear the legal and financial obstacles that follow people long after release.

Executive Director Daryl Atkinson, a practicing attorney with his own experience of incarceration, frames the stakes plainly: more than 19 million Americans have felony convictions, and full civic participation for that population would reshape democracy.

Read more here.

VivaDEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Is Still Legal. Still Necessary.

 
 

Public Equity Group launched Viva DEI, a resource hub for social sector organizations navigating the current diversity, equity, and inclusion landscape. The site curates and distills the best legal, policy and communications resources, to help organizations understand what's still lawful and how to keep the work going.

Explore the resources at: vivadei.org

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The Civic Stakes of Organizational Disagreement

 
 

Learning to disagree well is a civic act, argue Peter Levine and Dayna L. Cunningham in Stanford Social Innovation Review. Drawing on examples from the Civil Rights Movement, Tufts University, and Costco, they show how organizations that create conditions for constructive dissent help sustain democratic habits and how clear commitments embedded in durable practices allow institutions to absorb external pressure without abandoning core values.

Peter Levine is Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, and a leading figure in civic studies. Dayna L. Cunningham is the Pierre and Pamela Omidyar Dean of Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, a civil rights lawyer by training who previously led MIT's Community Innovators Lab.

Read the article here.

Heirs' Property Issues Are Causing Black Wealth Loss. Just One Major Funder Is On the Case

 
 

Over 500,000 U.S. properties are "heirs' property"—land passed down informally without legal paperwork, leaving every descendant with equal ownership stakes. This creates vulnerabilities: predatory developers exploit fractional ownership through partition lawsuits, families struggle to access loans or FEMA benefits, and unanimous agreement is required for any decisions. Black farmers lost 90% of their land in the 20th century due to these issues.

The issue connects to health equity, disaster relief, and wealth building, yet the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the only major national funder currently addressing this problem, investing $3.4 million since 2023.

Read the full article here.

Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) Opinion: “Sen. Warner’s Bill Calls for Transparency in Federal Enforcement”

 
 

A commentary by Lt. Diane Goldstein, executive director of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, in The Well News highlights Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine’s proposed legislation requiring federal officers to display visible identification during public operations.

The bill aims to curb enforcement practices that erode trust, while also protecting officers through measures like internet-scrubbing of personal data. Supporters frame the proposal as a way to strengthen accountability and rebuild public confidence in law enforcement.

Read the full commentary here.