Tamika Mallory Discusses How the United Justice Coalition Summit Will Invigorate the Activist Community
Some of today’s most progressive, leading Black activists, entrepreneurs, advocates and thought leaders will soon gather in New York City, as conservatives continue to flex their muscles in Washington, D.C.
On Saturday, July 23, the United Justice Coalition (UJC), assembled by Jay-Z’s philanthropic Team Roc, will host its inaugural social justice summit at Center415 in New York City.
This timely gathering comes weeks after former President Donald Trump’s appointees pushed the already conservative Supreme Court even further to vote for overturning the constitutional right to abortion procedures and throwing out a century-old New York gun control law that limited the right to carry firearms in public.
In the upcoming term, the court is expected to decide on two affirmative action college admission cases and voting rights cases. Meanwhile, some political analysts say that Republicans, eager to push their policies, have a good chance to retake control of Congress in the midterm elections.
The summit will address these and other pressing issues of the day, including wrongful convictions, the decriminalization of mental health, conditions of confinement, policing, economic advancement, transitioning in and out of the criminal justice system and more. It also provides opportunities for grassroots organizations to network with one another and exchange valuable ideas.
The slate of speakers and panelists at the free event includes Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Yo Gotti, Charlamagne tha God, Ben Crump, Dr. Bernice A. King, Letitia James and Soledad O’Brien.
BET.com spoke with social justice activist Tamika Mallory, one of the summit organizers, about the inaugural gathering and some of the hot-button issues they plan to tackle throughout the day.
BET.com: What are the most pressing topics that the UJC summit will address?
Tamika Mallory: The most pressing conversation for me is solutions that many of the panelists and UJC members have been working on and have been advocating for some time.
And then from there, we deal with issues from, obviously, criminal justice overhaul, mass incarceration, and police accountability, which is probably one of the top issues that UJC has worked on as a collective.
In other areas of law enforcement, I think that there are two other really important conversations that will be happening. One is the mental health component of our work and the health of our communities. The other piece is having families that have experienced the tragic loss of a loved one, due to, we believe, systemic racism, and having them to be at the summit.
BET.com: What do you hope will come out of the summit that’s tangible?
Tamika Mallory: One is the networking that will happen between investors, whether they be corporate entities or philanthropists, and grassroots organizations that need support. That has been really one of the focuses for the entire Team Roc is to make sure that all of the grassroots organizations have an opportunity to meet and really showcase our work to people who have the resources to help us.
Another outcome will be people hearing from some of the most critical thinkers and strategic minds in the social justice space. You know, coming from so many different perspectives, I think folks will walk away, figuring out how they can work closely with people who may be violence interrupters on the ground, and they will have an opportunity to network and get together and expand the work that they're doing.
BET.com: You’ve been a leader on women’s rights issues. After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, what’s the strategy to protect women’s rights in this new environment?
Tamika Mallory: I think that's another area where we'll have to be very vigilant. We're going to have to work extremely hard and be creative in terms of how we force states to protect our rights and for the federal government not to be comfortable or complacent but that they continue to push the envelope and find creative ways to protect women.
We as voters and as women have to be intentional about how we cast our ballots, whether we run for office, how we raise resources to support candidates that are progressive and supportive of women's rights. This is not a fight that is going to be won easily. It's going to require us really pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zone to be able to force those people who are in positions of power to stand on the right side of history.
I don't think it's going to be easy because there has been a sentiment in this country that some people have always wanted to roll back women's rights.
BET.com: After George Floyd was murdered, widespread protests erupted that gave many people hope that this country reached a turning point in its long history of police brutality against Black people. Are you optimistic that we’re heading in the right direction after that racial reckoning?
Tamika Mallory: I wouldn't call it a reckoning. I think we're still on the verge of that. I don't think we've actually experienced a true reckoning. There was an uprising. And I believe that there was an awakening for many and a confirmation for others.
There’s much more work to do. We still have a system that does absolutely nothing to protect people who are brutalized without a video to show what happened.
BET.com: So, where do we go from here?
Tamika Mallory: Well, keep fighting, for one. We must elect people to office who are willing to try these cases in court and to fight for some form of accountability.
We've got to organize at the polls to elect candidates with integrity, who will actually try these cases and prosecute officers and others who violate the civil rights and human rights of people. I think we also have to ensure that we keep pressure on the Biden administration so that the Department of Justice will continue to bring civil rights charges against law enforcement.
That takes a lot of work. The UJC summit is so important because it gives us an opportunity to find where the holes are, areas of our movement that needs to be strengthened, and also find where our strengths are that need to be enhanced.
The full lineup of panelists and more information on how to register to attend can be found HERE.
