Patrice James has spent her career tackling the inequities within the criminal legal system and more recently the child welfare system. Currently, she is the director of Community Justice at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law where she leads a team of advocates that focus on systemic reform of the criminal legal and child welfare systems. Prior to that she was a founding attorney of Still She Rises, Tulsa, where she provided holistic legal representation primarily to low-income women of color, engaged in community building, and advocated for shifting the narrative of women involved in the criminal justice system “from broken women to broken systems” as the Director of External Relations. Prior to Tulsa, Patrice was a public defender at the Bronx Defenders for five years, where she provided zealous criminal defense representation to people living in the Bronx. Patrice is also the co-founder and board member of the Black Public Defender Association.
For Black lives to matter, Black families must matter. Black mothers must matter.
The presence of police officers in our schools and their detrimental impact on Black and Brown children is well documented.
Housing authorities can promote health and justice for returning citizens right now
Now more than ever, we must remember our shared humanity and protect all people, including the incarcerated.
Electronic monitoring is incarceration by another name.
67 E. Madison St., Suite 2000
Chicago, IL 60603
phone: (312) 263-3830
