Advancement Project

Advancement Project is a politically liberal American nonprofit organization whose work centers on racial justice and the reduction of structural inequality. It was established in 1999 by civil-rights lawyers in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and developed as a legal and policy organization that combines litigation, research, coalition building, public education, and community organizing. Rather than operating as a consumer-facing commercial brand, Advancement Project functions as an advocacy platform and institutional partner for communities and organizations seeking changes in law, public policy, and government practice. The organization has operated through two related offices: Advancement Project National Office, based in Washington, D.C., and Advancement Project California, based in Los Angeles. The national office has focused on issues including voting rights, criminal-justice reform, school discipline, policing in schools, and the restoration of voting rights for people with felony convictions. Its voting-rights work has included opposition to voter-identification laws, support for automatic restoration of voting rights, collaboration with Louisiana organization Voice of the Experienced in 2017, and participation in efforts surrounding Florida Amendment 4 in 2018. It has also worked with VoteRiders to distribute state-specific information about voter-identification requirements. Education and youth justice are another significant area of activity. Advancement Project has criticized disciplinary systems that disproportionately remove Black and other minority students from classrooms and may contribute to a school-to-prison pipeline. In 2018, the national office worked with the Alliance for Educational Justice on a national report concerning the presence and role of police in schools. The organization has also participated in Moral Mondays demonstrations, linking racial justice concerns with broader debates over public policy and democratic rights. Advancement Project California applies a regional research and policy lens to racial disparities in the state. In 2017, it launched RACE COUNTS, an initiative that evaluates California counties across economic opportunity, health care, education, housing, democracy, crime and justice, and the environment. The project is intended to make disparities visible across geographic areas and to support more targeted public action. The California office has also published work on child-care availability and early education, school closures, and the distributional effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 crisis, Advancement Project California urged California policymakers to pause permanent school closures and identify communities at heightened risk of losing educational and child-care resources. In 2020, it published analysis indicating that Black and Latino residents of Los Angeles County experienced COVID-19 impacts at disproportionate rates compared with white residents, and that higher-poverty communities faced greater burdens than wealthier areas. These interventions illustrate the organization's broader approach: connecting racial disparities with public systems such as education, housing, health, voting, policing, and economic opportunity. Advancement Project's brand identity is therefore associated with movement-based civil-rights advocacy rather than products or retail offerings. Its audiences include affected communities, grassroots organizations, civil-rights coalitions, policymakers, journalists, researchers, and philanthropic or civic partners. Its public positioning emphasizes racial equity, democratic inclusion, community power, and policy accountability. The organization remains active, with national and California operations governed by boards and supported by executive leadership.

Advancement Project was founded in 1999 by civil-rights lawyers working in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Its founding leadership included Constance L. Rice, Stephen R. English, and Molly Munger. From the beginning, the organization was structured around the idea that legal tools, policy research, and community organizing could be used together to address racial inequality. Its work has generally targeted systems and institutions rather than individual services or commercial markets. The organization developed two principal operating centers. The Advancement Project National Office in Washington, D.C., works on national questions involving voting, criminal justice, education, policing, and democratic participation. Advancement Project California, based in Los Angeles, focuses on racial disparities and policy conditions within California. Although the offices have distinct geographic emphases, both share a racial-justice orientation and use advocacy, research, litigation-related strategies, coalition work, and public communications. The national office became associated with opposition to voter-identification requirements and with advocacy for the restoration of voting rights to people with felony convictions. In 2017, it worked with Voice of the Experienced, a Louisiana nonprofit, on voting-rights restoration issues. In 2018, it participated in efforts surrounding Florida Amendment 4, a ballot measure that restored voting rights to most people with felony convictions. The organization also collaborated with VoteRiders to help communicate state-specific voting-identification rules. Education and youth justice became another major strand of the national office's work. Advancement Project has argued that exclusionary school discipline and extensive police involvement can disproportionately affect minority students and contribute to a school-to-prison pipeline. In 2018, it partnered with the Alliance for Educational Justice on a national report concerning police presence in schools. The organization also participated in Moral Mondays protests, placing its racial-justice agenda within a wider movement opposing policies it regarded as harmful to democratic inclusion and marginalized communities. Advancement Project California expanded the organization's data-driven approach to state and local inequality. In 2017, it launched RACE COUNTS, a county-level project examining racial disparities across economic opportunity, health care, education, housing, democracy, crime and justice, and environmental conditions. The initiative ranked counties according to measured disparities and was designed to help policymakers and communities identify areas requiring intervention. The California office subsequently addressed child-care shortages and early-education access, including the unequal effects of gaps in care infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted further policy interventions. In April 2020, Advancement Project California called for a pause on permanent school closures and identified schools at risk of closure in densely populated counties. It also urged California to invest in communities affected by shelter-in-place orders, with particular attention to children lacking access to early education or child care. In May 2020, its analysis of Los Angeles County described unequal COVID-19 impacts by race and poverty, reinforcing the organization's argument that public-health emergencies can magnify pre-existing structural disparities. The organization has also used public campaigns and partnerships to connect racial justice with criminal-justice reform. In 2019, its collaboration with Ben & Jerry's focused on closing the Workhouse jail in St. Louis and comparable facilities. Across these activities, Advancement Project has maintained a model based on coalition building and policy change rather than direct commercial provision. Its governance has included national and California board members drawn from civil rights, labor, education, community organizing, law, and public advocacy. The organization remains active through its national and California offices.

• 2020

  COVID-19 equity and school-closure advocacy

  [1]Advancement Projecten.wikipedia.org

  Advancement Project California addressed racial and economic disparities in pandemic impacts and urged policymakers to pause permanent school closures and protect early-education access.

• 2019

  Criminal-justice reform partnership with Ben & Jerry's

  [1]Advancement Projecten.wikipedia.org

  The organization joined Ben & Jerry's in a campaign focused on closing the Workhouse jail in St. Louis and similar facilities.

• 2018

  Florida Amendment 4 voting-rights campaign

  [1]Advancement Projecten.wikipedia.org

  Advancement Project participated in work supporting Florida's Amendment 4, which restored voting rights to most ex-felons.

• 2018

  National report on police in schools

  [1]Advancement Projecten.wikipedia.org

  The national office partnered with the Alliance for Educational Justice on a report examining the state and impact of police presence in schools.

• 2017

  RACE COUNTS launched in California

  [1]Advancement Projecten.wikipedia.org

  Advancement Project California introduced RACE COUNTS, a county-level racial-disparity research and ranking initiative covering multiple social, economic, health, and justice dimensions.

• 2017

  Voting-rights restoration work with Voice of the Experienced

  [1]Advancement Projecten.wikipedia.org

  The national office worked with Louisiana nonprofit Voice of the Experienced on advocacy related to restoring voting rights for people with felony convictions.

• 1999

  Advancement Project founded

  [1]Advancement Projecten.wikipedia.org

  Civil-rights lawyers founded Advancement Project through operations based in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

A movement-oriented racial-justice and civil-rights nonprofit that combines legal advocacy, research, coalition work, and community organizing to challenge institutional inequities in the United States.

• Research and data platform · 2017

  RACE COUNTS

  RACE COUNTS is an Advancement Project California initiative that examines racial disparities across California counties. Its framework covers economic opportunity, health care, education, housing, democracy, crime and justice, and the environment. By comparing conditions geographically, the project aims to give communities and policymakers a clearer basis for identifying inequity and directing public action.

• Civil-rights advocacy

  Voting-rights restoration advocacy

  The national office advocates for restoration of voting rights for people with felony convictions and opposes voting restrictions it considers discriminatory, including voter-identification laws. Its work has included coalition activity, public education, and support for state-level reforms such as Florida Amendment 4.

• Education policy

  Education-equity and school-discipline advocacy

  Advancement Project works to challenge school disciplinary practices and policing arrangements that it believes disproportionately harm minority students. Its education work addresses the school-to-prison pipeline, police presence in schools, school closures, and unequal access to early education and child care.

• 2019Workhouse and criminal-justice reform campaign

  St. Louis · United States

  Advancement Project partnered with Ben & Jerry's on a campaign advocating closure of the Workhouse jail in St. Louis and comparable jails as part of a broader criminal-justice reform agenda.

  Source
• 2018Florida Amendment 4 voting-rights campaign

  Florida · United States

  Advancement Project took part in efforts supporting Amendment 4, a Florida constitutional amendment restoring voting rights to most people with felony convictions after completion of their sentences.

  Outcome. The amendment passed and restored voting rights to the covered population, subject to the measure's conditions.

  Source

• 2020

  Pandemic response focused on education and racial equityStrategy

  Background

  The COVID-19 pandemic threatened school continuity, child-care access, and communities already experiencing racial and economic disparities.

  Action taken

  Advancement Project California called for a pause on permanent school closures, identified schools at risk, urged investment in communities affected by shelter-in-place orders, and published analysis of unequal COVID-19 impacts.

  Aftermath

  The organization extended its racial-equity advocacy into pandemic education, child-care, and public-health policy.

  Source

• 2017

  Launch of RACE COUNTSStrategy

  Background

  Advancement Project California sought to make racial inequality more measurable and locally actionable across the state.

  Action taken

  It created a county comparison and research initiative covering seven broad domains, including education, health, housing, democracy, justice, economic opportunity, and the environment.

  Aftermath

  The initiative became a central California-facing research and public-policy offering.

  Source

1. 1Advancement Projecten.wikipedia.org
2. 2Advancement Project official websiteadvancementproject.org