The immigrant clients of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) know what it is like to wait for a legal determination that will decide their fate, a decision that never comes. They have heard too often, and said too often, “Solo tenemos que esperar” (We just have to wait). Currently, hundreds of thousands of asylum […]
SRLP Continues to Resist Against Violent Prison Conditions
By Julian Castronovo, SRLP Legal Intern on May 4, 2018 in Everyday Abolition, Legal, News, Prisoner Rights Project
In February, the NYC Board of Correction released an assessment of the Transgender Housing Unit (the THU) which can be found here.[1] The Board is a nine-person, non-judicial oversight body that regulates, monitors, and inspects the correctional facilities of the City. It is tasked with holding the Department of Corrections accountable for its implementation of […]
SRLP is Reopening Our Walk-In Legal Clinic on May 24! / SRLP está reabriendo nuestra clínica legal el 24 de mayo!
By Sylvia Rivera Law Project on May 4, 2018 in Immigrant Rights Project, Legal, News, Survival and Self Determination Project
Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) is reopening our legal clinic and intake for name changes, ID updates, shelter and healthcare access, immigration, and other unique legal needs starting Thursday, May 24, 2018! To improve the legal intake experience for our clients, we are changing our walk-in legal clinic to a combination scheduled intake and walk-in […]
How Politicians Are Using Faux Progressive Arguments to Lock Up Young People
Dean Spade, Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s founder and member of our collective, wrote In In These Times about the ways in which the justification for expanding the carceral state and perpetuation of systemic racism is couched in progressive language. The push for new jails in Seattle in the name of racial justice and prison reform reveals why […]
Celebrating the Release of “In Solidarity”!
By Kimberly Mckenzie, Director of Outreach and Community Engagement on April 16, 2018 in News, Newsletter, SRLP Prisoner Advisory Committee
With much excitement, SRLP presents the digital release of “In Solidarity”! “In Solidarity” is SRLP’s bi-annual newsletter that is created and informed by our Prison Advisory Committee. A collection of artwork, poems, and writings, it is one of the many ways SRLP continues to uplift the voices of TGNC communities and our incarcerated members to […]
“Freedom” by J’asiyah Colon
The following essay was written by one SRLP’s PAC members while she was held in the Transgender Housing Unit (THU) of the NYC jails. This essay was inspired by an article on Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson and their legacy of resistance. – Mik I am a 34 year-old Puerto Rican trans woman named […]
21 Questions Need 21 Answers
Below is an essay from PAC member and It’s War in Here Advisory Committee member Terrianna Witherspoon. Terrianna is a longtime advocate for all trans people and she has contributed enormously to SRLP over the years. We are excited to share her very important essay on issues faced by trans people in prison. – Mik […]
THU April Writings
The following submissions were written by some of our PAC members while they were inside the Transgender Housing Unit of the NYC jails. SRLP teaches classes in this unit twice a month. Sometimes members ask us to share their writings or drawings from the unit. Below are two submissions from recent classes. – Mik […]
Trans Forums Coalition: From Struggles to Solutions: How We Got Here
In July 2015, the Anti-Violence Project, Make the Road New York, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project, the Audre Lorde Project, the LGBT Center, and GMHC (along with local Bronx-based LGBT organizations and allies) with support from then City Council Speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council member Ritchie Torres, and the LGBT caucus of the City Council held […]
SRLP Shelter Organizing Team Members and Staff Testify at NYC Council Budget Hearing on General Welfare
By Sasha Alexander, SRLP Director of Membership on April 3, 2018 in Membership, News, Policy Advocacy
Every year in New York City, both the Mayor and City Council go through a budgeting process. During this process, city agencies and the public testify on various issues, such as policing, education, healthcare, housing, and immigration. By providing testimony about our experiences, we can use our stories to impact policy, funding, and services available […]