Neighborhood FORWARD is a national movement built by concerned citizens, faith leaders, civil rights activists, elected officials, business partners, and nonprofit organizations throughout the country. We are dedicated to action and equality on the grassroots level, one neighborhood at a time.
It is our mission to ensure every person in our society is treated equally and with equity, not just under the law but also in the conception of the law. In the words of Shirley Chisholm…
Our goal is to be the collective voice for vulnerable populations and marginalized communities and to foster social, political, and economic change through local, state, and federal legislative action. We hold that our laws often lack complete cultural understanding despite their well-meaning intentions. And while society cannot legislate away its prejudices, we must dismantle existing laws that are inherently discriminatory and to oppose efforts to enact new statutes and policies that will advance those biases any further.
Moving our Neighborhood FORWARD is about the community taking collective action to bring about change through meaningful policy. Neighborhood FORWARD believes that to change our neighborhoods, we must:
REFORM the criminal justice system through the adoption of 21st century community policing models, putting an end to racially biased and insensitive policies.
REINVEST in our neighborhoods to include affordable housing and economic development, combatting the tragic legacy of redlining.
REIMAGINE our neighborhoods to help them evolve, grow, and thrive by eliminating food insecurity and spurring workforce development.
Neighborhood FORWARD represents the countless thousands whose lives have been impacted by the “unintended consequences” of racially biased policies. By relaying these experiences to lawmakers and using them to inform new, better policies, we can change our neighborhoods forward to equality and reverse the legacy of decades of mistrust.
