Advancement Project

Advancement Project is a multi-racial civil rights organization. Founded by a team of veteran civil rights lawyers in 1999, Advancement Project was created to develop and inspire community-based solutions based on the same high quality legal analysis and public education campaigns that produced the landmark civil rights victories of earlier eras. From Advancement Project's inception, we have worked "on-the-ground," helping organized communities of color dismantle and reform the unjust and inequitable policies that undermine the promise of democracy. Simultaneously, we have aggressively sought and seized opportunities to promote this approach to racial justice.

Our mission is:

"To develop, encourage, and widely disseminate innovative ideas, and pioneer models that inspire and mobilize a broad national racial justice movement to achieve universal opportunity and a just democracy!"

Our Theory of Change

A decade ago, Advancement Project's founding team of veteran civil rights lawyers believed that structural racism could begin to be dismantled by multi-racial grassroots organizing focused on changing public policies and supported by lawyers and communications strategies. The collective experience of Advancement Project's founders, as well as the conclusion of some of the most creative thinkers in the civil rights field, suggested that when this method of change is employed, it can have much greater resonance than policy advocacy, litigation, or organizing tend to have on their own. Yet racial justice efforts that incorporated this essential-and powerful-mix of lawyers, organizers, and communication experts rarely occurred. To implement our theory of change, Advancement Project operates on two planes:

Locally, we provide direct, hands-on support for organized communities in their struggles for racial and social justice, providing legal and communications resources for on-the-ground efforts, while assisting in building their own capacity and power in their communities.

Nationally, we actively broaden and extend the practice of community-centered racial justice lawyering through training, networking, creation of tools and resources, media outreach and public education. We also use strategic communications to influence public opinion on issues of race, democracy and justice.

Board members

Both Advancement Project's National Office in Washington, D.C. and Advancement Project California are governed by a 16-member board of directors. As of 2019, the board included Bill Lann Lee, Joe Alvarez, Arlene Holt Baker, Harry Belafonte, Stephen R. English, Rinku Sen, Helen Kim, Daniel Leon-Davis, Ash-Lee Henderson, Alberto Retana, Barrett S. Litt, Molly Munger, Katherine Peck, Constance L. Rice, Tom Unterman, and Jesse Williams.

In 2023, the board was composed of Arlene Holt Baker, Ash-Lee Henderson, Bill Lann Lee, Daniel Leon-Davis, Jesse Williams, Joe Alvarez, Monica Clark, Nat Chioke Williams, Franita Tolson, Stephen R. English, Thomasina Williams, and Uzoma Nkwonta.

As of March 2013;

• Joe Alvarez
• Harry Belafonte
• Stephen R. English, Esq
• Penda D. Hair, Esq
• Gerry Hudson
• Bruce Iwasaki
• Bill Lann Lee, Esq
• Barrett S. Litt
• Pam Martinez
• Molly Munger, Esq
• Sheila Thomas
• Gerald Torres, Esq
• Zack Walker

Right to the City

In 2010 Right to the City gave thanks and appreciation to the hard work of outgoing Steering Committee members: Denise Perry, Dawn Phillips, and Rickke Mananzala. At the 2010 U.S. Social Forum, the membership elected a new Steering Committee, consisting of: Anita Sinha, Advancement Project; Jon Liss, Tenants and Workers United/New Virginia Majority; Kalila Barnett, Alternatives for Community and Environment; Alicia Garza, POWER; Mark Swier, Mothers On The Move; Eileen Ma, Korean Immigrant Workers Association; Yvette Thierry, Safe Streets Strong Communities; Gihan Perera, Miami Workers Center/Florida New Majority; and Leonardo Vilchis, Union De Vecinos.

Anita Sinha serves on RTTC's Executive Committee as Archivist, and is a Senior Attorney at Advancement Project.