Atlanta Community Support Project

Past Events

Returning to Representation: Uprooting Felony Disenfranchisement in Georgia

June 10, 2025, 6:00pm

For this edition of Talk Justice Tuesday, Atlanta Community Support Project (ACSP) and Advancement Project talked about the work of the Rights Restoration Coalition of Georgia, the history of felony disenfranchisement in state law, and how directly-impacted Georgians are collectively exercising and demanding our civil rights.

"Talk Justice Tuesdays" focus on key issues and solutions relevant to communities affected by criminal legal systems. They cover a myriad of topics and are hosted by different Georgia Justice Reform Partnership (JPR) groups, a coalition of over 80 organizations doing criminal legal reform work in the state, each time. ACSP is a member organization of the JRP.

Rooted in Justice, Thriving Together: Justice Day 2025

Tuesday, February 25, 2025, 9am-3:30pm (registration and breakfast at 8:30am)

As a member of the Georgia Justice Reform Partnership (JRP), ACSP is one of over 80 organizations working for criminal legal change in our state. Every year, the JRP hosts "Justice Day," which serves as an opportunity for folks in the community to connect with like-minded individuals, engage with lawmakers, learn about important criminal legal issues, and discover ways to support people who are incarcerated and impact change. Justice Day 2025 will showcase how community-rooted solutions and justice reforms focused on dignity, fairness, and holistic support strengthen families and help communities thrive.

Justice Day takes place at Central Presbyterian Church, 201 Washington St SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30334, across the street from the State Capitol. We encourage everyone to come and be in fellowship in person, and to visit the ACSP team at our table. But if that's not possible, Justice Day will also be live streamed on the JRP FaceBook and YouTube pages.

For more information or to register, click here.

Georgia Parole Advocacy: the Basics

a training event for pro bono attorneys

Wednesday, February 19, 2025, 9-11:30am

As part of ACSP's work to build up a supportive pro bono network, we'll be offering CLE trainings for attorneys throughout the year, all focused on professionalism, ethics, and the power of community-led lawyering.

For our first CLE event, we've teamed up with Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, Women on the Rise GA, and attorneys at the Southern Center for Human Rights. At this event, we’ll share an overview of ACSP's work and break down the Georgia parole landscape. We'll use the event to kickstart a pro bono initiative aimed at bringing race and class equity to post-conviction advocacy. We invite existing and new legal partners to come be a part of the solution!

Training by Luci Harrell, Founding Director at ACSP, with support from:

Robyn Hasan-Simpson, Executive Director, Women on the Rise GA

Mark Loudon-Brown, Senior Attorney, Southern Center for Human Rights

Alison Ganem, Staff Attorney, Southern Center for Human Rights

Hosted by Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. This is an in-person only event.

This event is for attorneys only; register HERE.

The People's Process

throughout February 2025

ACSP has joined the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR) and other advocates for The People’s Process, a community-centered initiative designed to generate recommendations to end Fulton County Jail's human rights abuses, as documented by the November 14, 2024 U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division's investigation report. In response to the report, Fulton County has remained silent about next steps and has not sought public input on the future of the jail. SCHR opened this reporting process so that those impacted can offer meaningful recommendations to elected officials.

How can you get involved? If you've experienced violations or abuse at the Fulton County Jail and would like to share your testimony, you can complete the witness form here.

You can also register for any/all of the remaining in-person events:

Saturday, Feb. 1, 12-2pm. Southern Center for Human Rights office, 60 Walton St. NW, Atlanta. Light bites and refreshments will be served. Register here.

Thursday, Feb. 6, 8am. Be a Fulton County court watcher. Join SCHR in court to see why The People's Process is important. Let them know you plan to join by completing the registration form here.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 12-7pm, at Auburn Avenue Research Library. Free; lunch provided. This last session of The People's Process will include witness testimony, issue-based presentations, and live data collection. It will reveal the detailed DOJ report findings of the abuse and violations found in the Fulton County Jail and feedback collected from previous sessions. Save your seat by registering here.

Learn & Serve at Oxford College

Monday, February 10, 2025, 5:30-7pm

As part of ACSP's continued collaboration with the Emory University community generally, we're thrilled to engaging in a "Learn & Serve" at Oxford College on Feb. 10th. This event is being hosted by our friends at Volunteer Oxford and OxVotes. Students are invited to come and learn more about ACSP's work, have dinner with us, and assist in folding and prepping a special legislative edition of the quarterly prison newsletter, The Freedom Reader.

This edition of The Freedom Reader is part of a mini-initiative which will give people incarcerated throughout the state an opportunity to learn about bills being debated during the 2025 Georgia Legislative Session. More than that, it'll provide a way for our inside correspondents and their families to learn which lawmakers represent the districts in which they're confined, and to share invaluable information about how those senators and representatives' decisions impact their lives. Ultimately, this initiative aims to bridge the gap between local communities and legislators by enhancing transparency and communication.

Big shoutout to the Truth + Transformation Project, at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, for funding this initiative!

This event is for Oxford College students only, and not open to the public.

MLK Coat Drive

Monday, January 20, 2025, 3-5:30pm

Friends, we're reaching out as everyone is enjoying the long weekend to tell you about a coat drive event happening in Bankhead tomorrow from 3:00 to 5:30pm. Our comrade, Kareemah Hanifa, called to ask if we could support this important event, which she organizes every year. Especially in advance of the extremely low temperatures and more expected snow for Atlanta this week, ACSP is answering the call to support our community members living outside.

Our ask to you:

Donate coats, if you have them. We'll be at the Bankhead location a little early, around 2pm.

Come be in community with us. What better way to celebrate service on MLK Day, right? ACSP will be having coffee with folks and handing out hygiene items, fresh t-shirts, socks, hand warmers, and hugs! These are tough times and connecting with people is imperative.

Location: 2760 Donald Lee Hollowell Pkwy, Atlanta

Vote in My Honor Rally

Saturday, October 26, 2024, 12-3pm

Join Atlanta Community Support Project (ACSP) as we support the Rights Restoration of Georgia, along with many sister organizations, at the Dunbar Neighborhood Center this Saturday for a voting rights rally.

This will be a lively and informative event dedicated to discussing the restoration of voting rights for justice impacted individuals in our community and encouraging those that can vote to vote in their honor! The event will include a screening of the short documentary film made by ACSP's own, Page Dukes, Until We All Count, followed by a rally led by directly impacted advocates telling their stories, illustrating why it is so important to fight for all voting rights and to vote in honor of those that cannot! There will be food, fun activities for all, and access to information from several organizations providing services to system-impacted people and families in Georgia.

Location: 477 Windsor St SW, Atlanta, GA 30312

Register HERE.

Defend Your Rights.

Tuesday, September 24, 2024, 11am-2pm

Atlanta Community Support Project (ACSP) wants our comrades and community members to stay safe when you're out doing the work. That means knowing your rights when it comes to police interactions. Join us on Tuesday, September 24th for an informative session on the most confusing constitutional rights of all: Fourth Amendment rights. We'll learn what cops are and aren't allowed to lawfully do, and why, when it comes to search and seizure. This includes casual conversations with officers, instances when they stop us on foot or by car, and situations where they come to our homes.

Lunch will be provided. Please dress comfortably, bring your Fourth Amendment questions, and be ready to absorb info and engage with others in our community. There will limited capacity for in-person attendance, but a virtual option will alternately be available. Click here to register for the event.

Luci Harrell, Chalana McFarland, Robert Allen, Page Dukes

ATJ National Law School Tour at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School

March 21, 2024, 9am - 6pm

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office for Access to Justice (ATJ) embarked on a national law school tour to have conversations around the importance of adequate representation the criminal legal sphere. Atlanta's John Marshall Law School was their last stop on the tour.

For this important event, the ACSP team -- including Chalana McFarland, Robert Allen, and Page Dukes -- spent the day talking to law students about our work and opportunities to engage. Luci Harrell spoke on a panel with comrades entitled Transformational Stories: Wisdom from Justice-Impacted Law Students.

All in all, we were proud to represent our community of FIP-leaders and talk to the Office of Access to Justice team. We champion the work of all the public defense and nonprofit orgs there, as well as each person who took the time to engage on issues facing our community, to talk about the importance of self-advocacy and community involvement, and about how public defenders play a critical role as part of a larger movement to end mass criminalization.

For more information, visit the AJMLS website.

Justice Day 2024: Justice is a Family Affair

February 29, 2024, 9am - 3pm

Every year, advocates gathered in downtown Atlanta, at Central Presbyterian Church, across from the State Capitol, to talk about the critical need for criminal legal reforms in Georgia. Hosted by the Justice Reform Partnership (JRP), this year's theme focused on the impact of mass incarceration on families and communities.

The ACSP tabled at this year's Justice Day, and had a great time connecting with community members in person and having conversations with like-minded individuals.

CLICK HERE to watch some of the recordings of panel discussions from Justice Day 2024.

Law Student Volunteer Info & Training Session

February 12, 2024, 5-6pm

The Atlanta Community Support Project (ACSP) will be hosting a virtual session for local law students interested in getting involved with our grassroots justice work in a volunteer capacity. We offer opportunities for those interested in pursuing a career in various areas of law to serve the growing community of people affected by poverty and incarceration by devoting pro bono or community service hours.

During this event, we'll introduce you to the ACSP's work, community values, and explain our theory of change. We'll explain how you can serve others, whether you have one hour or 50 to spare. ACSP volunteer work can be done remotely, at your convenience, but if you're interested in in-person opportunities, we'll share some of those as well.

We especially encourage law students at Atlanta's John Marshall Law School, Georgia State University, and Emory University to attend, but the event is open to all.

CLICK HERE to register for the event.

GACDL's Winter Seminar

January 26, 2024

The ACSP had the opportunity to speak to public and private defenders and policy advocates on the topic of Avoiding Lonely Games: Choosing Allyship as a Defense Lawyering Practice, through a CLE presentation Luci gave at the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers' (GACDL) 2024 Winter Seminar & Annual Meeting at the State Bar, and a social event afterwards. We were glad to be in and build community with local attorneys fighting hard for and with their clients. And we were very proud to see ACSP Board Member and movement lawyer, Devin Franklin (pictured below), and longtime ally and supporter, attorney Mark Loudon-Brown, honored with the GACDL President's Commitment to GACDL Award. Thanks to all the folks who made this happen, and to those who were willing to engage in critical conversations.

Indiana Women's Prison History Project Conversation

November 10, 2023

The Atlanta Community Support Project provided support to our friends at Mourning Our Losses (MOL) as they hosted a conversation with three of the editors and authors of Who Would Believe a Prisoner? Indiana Women's Carceral Institutions, 1848-1920, published by The New Press.

The event took place at For Keeps Books in Atlanta, and included a conversation with MOL's Page Dukes and the book's authors, Michelle Daniel Jones, Anastazia Schmid, and Elizabeth Nelson.

To learn more about the book, visit whowouldbelieve.com

For more info about MOL, a crowd-sourced space remembering the lives of those who've died behind bars, visit mourningourlosses.org

Decriminalizing Race & Poverty Symposium

October 25, 2023

The ACSP's founding director, Luci Harrell, spoke on a panel at the annual Decriminalizing Race & Poverty Symposium, hosted by the Southern Center for Human Rights at the GSU College of Law, and featuring keynote speaker Andrea Armstrong. WATCH HERE.

"Let My People Vote" Town Hall in Macon

October 7, 2023

The ACSP had our first tabling at the Macon, Georgia voting rights town hall organized by the Rights Restoration Coalition of Georgia. We appreciated the chance to be in community with other orgs doing amazing advocacy work, and to connect with our brothers and sisters who have recently been released, as well as family members advocating for their loved ones still inside.