Our Purpose

Hear from DJC’s Founder, 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

Detroit Justice Center Announces 2024 Artist in Residence

This year’s Artist in Residence will be Cherise Morris, whose proposal “Abolition is an Ancestral...
Read More

Celebrate Six Years of DJC!

Over the past 6 years, the Detroit Justice Center has held onto our foundational belief...
Read More

Detroit Justice Center Endorses Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act

Last month, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib introduced the Youth Homelessness Guaranteed Income Pilot Program Act, which...
Read More

Detroit Justice Center Welcomes $2 Million Donation from Yield Giving Open Call

Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced the Detroit Justice Center (DJC) as one of the...
Read More

Community Partnerships Playbook

How can technologists and scientists engage communities in a spirit of partnership, without extractive practices?...
Read More