Contact: press@ccrjustice.org
Website and Activist Guide Focus on Freedom of Information Act for Social Justice Movements
May 23, 2019, New York – Today, the Center for Constitutional Rights launched the Open Records Project: FOIA for the Movement, which will provide resources and trainings focused on the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state open records requests to assist advocates in more effectively using open records requests to challenge oppressive systems of power. The launch includes publication of “FOIA Basics for Activists,”—a guide containing an overview of the FOIA process, step-by-step instructions for filing FOIA and state requests and navigating agency responses, and strategies to use open records requests and the documents they produce to advance social justice advocacy and campaigns.
“Open records and
freedom of information requests are powerful tools for activists to use
in their efforts to challenge injustice,” said the Open Record Project’s
coordinator, Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Legal Worker and
author of the booklet, Ian Head. “We hope the Open Records Project can assist our allies in achieving their social justice goals.”
The
Center for Constitutional Rights frequently uses FOIA requests,
litigation, and advocacy to support, publicize, and advance goals of
movement and community partners. Among other open records efforts, the
organization has uncovered information that the National Day Laborers
Organizing Network used in a campaign against the federal “Secure Communities” deportation program; obtained documents regarding the policing of anti-pipeline activists;
and revealed the existence of a Department of Homeland Security
document known as the “Race Paper”— sent in response to a request from
the Center for Constitutional Rights and Color of Change seeking
documents related to the surveillance and monitoring of Movement for
Black Lives protesters and organizers.
The Freedom
of Information Act is a federal statute (5 USC § 552) that enables
anyone in the United States to request records from federal agencies.
The act was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966, the
same year the Center for Constitutional Rights was founded. States also
have their own open records laws, many of them enacted after the passage
of FOIA.
For more information, visit the Center for Constitutional Rights’ project page.
The
Center for Constitutional Rights works with communities under threat to
fight for justice and liberation through litigation, advocacy, and
strategic communications. Since 1966, The Center for Constitutional
Rights has taken on oppressive systems
of power, including structural racism, gender oppression, economic
inequity, and governmental overreach. Learn more at ccrjustice.org.
