VOTING RIGHTS

The NAACP remains committed to defending and expanding access to the ballot box. Our work includes supporting legislation that strengthens voter participation, protects democratic access, and ensures everyone eligible can fully participate in our democracy. 

​

​

​

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

We advocate for a more equitable justice system that prioritizes fairness, accountability, rehabilitation, and community safety. This includes advancing policies that address sentencing reform, incarceration conditions, due process protections, and reentry support.

​​​

OUR FIGHTS

Form a diverse and fair federal judiciary

We need a fair and balanced judiciary that reflects all aspects of the legal profession, especially those who've promoted equality in the civil and criminal justice systems. The number of former prosecutors and corporate attorneys who sit on the bench outnumber former civil rights lawyers and public defenders, creating a system that's skewed against individuals. This imbalance will last for decades without intervention.

​

Eliminate racial and economic bias

To reform our justice system, we must address the structural inequities that allow people with lower incomes to be penalized in ways that wealthy people aren't. This systematically affects Black communities who continue to be over-policed, surveilled, harshly sentenced, and sent to prison in lieu of access to quality healthcare.

​

End mass incarceration

The U.S. has the largest prison population in the world — 1 in 100 citizens is behind bars. When incarceration is used as the primary response to social problems, individuals, families and communities suffer. We need to shift resources from prisons to education and community development, eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenses, establish treatment for health issues, and end the death penalty.

 

EDUCATION EQUITY

Every child deserves access to a quality education in a safe and supportive environment. Our advocacy focuses on equitable school funding, restorative approaches to discipline, student opportunity, and policies that support educational advancement across New York State.

​​

OUR FIGHTS​

Cradle-to-career support

Students need family and community engagement and resources that encourage physical and mental health for their overall well-being, which allows for stronger academic development. We work to expand access to high-quality learning experiences throughout the education continuum and accelerate community-driven approaches to build stable, enriching public education systems.
 

College and workforce success

We support students getting the education and skills development they need, so they can be successful on the job or in an academic environment. College costs should be affordable. Forgiving student loan debt and decreasing the overall cost of college is an economic imperative.
 

Racial justice in education

We need strategies and investments that build accountability to advance the success of children of color. Black children deserve to experience culturally relevant, student-centered learning — not extreme punishments or hallways staffed with police officers. We work to expand policies and interventions that equip families and communities to better support their kids' needs in school.
 

An end to the school-to-prison pipeline

Police officers don't make schools safer. But police presence in schools does increase the likelihood that Black students will be introduced to the legal system and then remain in it. In 43 states and the District of Columbia, Black students are more likely to be arrested than other students while at school — often with devastating effects to the child and their life trajectory.

​

ENVIRONMENTAL & CLIMATE JUSTICE

Environmental justice is civil rights work. The NAACP New York State Conference supports policies that reduce environmental harm, protect vulnerable communities, address pollution, and advance sustainable investments that promote healthier futures statewide.

​​

OUR FIGHTS

Making Polluters Pay

Holding corporations and industries financially responsible for the harms they cause. Ensure that polluter-pays mechanisms fund cleanup, equitable infrastructure, and community-led climate solutions worldwide.

​

Energy Justice 

Expanding access to affordable, community-owned renewable energy. Insurance companies and financial institutions retreat from high-risk areas, abandoning communities rather than investing in resilience. 

​

Sustainable communities and a toxic-free environment 

Rebuilding clean water systems, housing, and transportation that serve people, not profit.

 

HEALTH EQUITY

We continue to advocate for expanded healthcare access, hospital accountability, preventative care, mental health support, and policies that address longstanding racial disparities in healthcare outcomes affecting Black communities.

​​

OUR FIGHTS

Equitable access to quality healthcare and equitable health outcomes

This pillar focuses on ensuring all individuals, particularly Black Americans, have access to affordable, high-quality health care, including primary care and clinical preventive services, mental health care, and chronic disease management.

​

Equitable food systems

Recognizing that "food is medicine," the NAACP emphasizes the importance of access to nutritious, affordable food through support for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program and integration of nutrition into disease prevention and health promotion, as well as addressing food deserts in Black communities.
 

Inclusive healthcare system and infrastructure

This pillar advocates for a healthcare system with a diverse and culturally fluent provider workforce that can respond effectively and appropriately to the holistic needs of different communities, and where the practice of race-based medicine is eliminated.

​

Healthy people, healthy communities, and health in all policies

Advocating for policies that promote health across all sectors, such as expanding Medicaid, ensuring environmental justice, and utilizing data collection and analysis to inform local and state interventions and expose discriminatory practices, is essential to achieving health equity.