Our Purpose

Hear from DJC’s Founder and Executive Director, Amanda Alexander, and other team members on the common goals of DJC and the the Kresge Foundation’s Detroit program and why this collaboration is so important to push Detroit forward.

DJC is founded on the belief that we cannot build cities that work for everyone without remedying the impacts of mass incarceration. This mission requires innovative ways of community lawyering—rooted in defensive and offensive fights for racial justice and economic equity—that build up our poorest residents through direct services and novel approaches to land use, housing, and employment. We use a three-pronged approach—what we call “defense, offense, and dreaming”—to serve individual clients, build power, and catalyze systemic solutions.

What’s Happening at DJC

Introducing DJC’s Co-EDs

Our Founding Executive Director, Amanda Alexander, will be stepping down from her role on July...
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Holding Their Feet to the Fire

Nancy Parker delivers an op-ed that reveals the negligence from city council members as they...
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An Even Cleaner Slate: 6 Key Improvements *Still Needed* for Accessible Expungement Processes

While Clean Slate is a positive step forward, we believe that this bill package can...
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Standing up to squatter removal services and illegal evictions

Detroiters have been fighting displacement for decades due to illegal tax foreclosures and evictions. As...
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Season 2 of Freedom Dreams Podcast Out Now!

This season on Freedom Dreams we’re amplifying community-led solutions to violence and harm. We called...
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Statement on Tyre Nichols

Once again we are joined together in a cycle of grief and rage at police...
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