The Atlanta Citizen Review Board is an independent group that looks at complaints about Atlanta police and corrections officers. You can file a complaint, and some complaints can go to a free talk with the officer led by a neutral mediator. The board also shares information about your rights and visits events around the city.
S. government agency that enforces federal laws against job discrimination. If you think an employer treated you unfairly at work, you can file a charge with them. They also offer mediation, training, and help for small businesses and federal workers.
S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It works to make sure people are not treated unfairly when they rent, buy, or finance a home. You can call or go online to report housing discrimination. This includes discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or having children.
Lambda Legal is a national legal group that fights for the civil rights of LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. Its Southern Regional Office is in Decatur. Its Legal Help Desk gives general legal information and resources about discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or HIV status.
The King Center in Atlanta is a living memorial to Dr., started by Coretta Scott King in 1968. You can visit the grounds and exhibits for free, use its archive, take nonviolence training, and join youth, school and volunteer programs.
Georgia First Amendment Foundation is a nonprofit that works for the public's right to know what government is doing. It teaches citizens, public officials, journalists, and lawyers about Georgia's open records, open meetings, and free speech laws. If you have trouble getting records or getting into meetings, you can email them for free guidance.
The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is a national civil rights law group started in 1940. It fights racial discrimination in court and through advocacy, research and public education. It also offers scholarships for undergraduate and law students and reviews requests for legal help through an online form.
The Carter Center is a nonprofit started in 1982 that works on peace, democracy, human rights, and health around the world. It fights diseases like Guinea worm, watches elections, and works on mental health and support for family caregivers.S.
The Georgia NAACP is the state group of the NAACP, a civil rights organization. It has local units and youth and college units across Georgia. It speaks out on racial discrimination, supports voter registration, and has started a food and needs program for families hit by cuts to SNAP and WIC.
Mad Housers is a mostly volunteer-run nonprofit in Atlanta. It builds small, simple survival shelters called huts for people who are living outside. The huts give people protection from the weather, privacy, and a safe place to keep their things.
SisterLove is an Atlanta nonprofit that works on HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health, with a focus on Black women and other communities that get left out. It offers HIV and STI testing, peer support, and education, and it works on health laws and policy. People can get tested at its MotherHouse in the West End or on its Healthy Love Bus.
This is Georgia's state law office. It represents the state in court and prosecutes serious crimes such as human trafficking. It also takes reports about consumer problems, Medicaid fraud, election fraud, and antisemitic incidents. It cannot give legal advice to private people.
This is a program at Spelman College, a women's college in Atlanta. A select group of Spelman students take part in advocacy internships, monthly talks, book discussions and project design. The program also runs a podcast called The Blue Record and a discussion series called Spelman Speaks.
The Human Relations Commission is a City of Atlanta board that takes complaints about discrimination in housing, private jobs and public places like stores and restaurants inside the city. It looks into the complaints and recommends how to fix them. You file a complaint in writing within 180 days of what happened.
ACLU of Georgia is a statewide group that works to protect civil rights and freedoms. It files lawsuits, pushes for better laws, teaches people about their rights, and trains volunteers to watch elections and protests. It says it is generally not a legal aid office and cannot take most requests for individual legal help.
Southern Center for Human Rights is a nonprofit law and advocacy group in Atlanta. It helps people affected by the criminal legal system in the Deep South by doing legal representation, lawsuits, policy advocacy, court watching, and public education.
Tahirih Justice Center is a national nonprofit with an office in Atlanta that gives free, private legal and social services to immigrants who have faced violence because of their gender, such as domestic violence, sexual assault, forced marriage or trafficking. Its lawyers help with immigration cases like asylum, VAWA, T visas, U visas and special immigrant juvenile status, and its social services team helps with safety planning and connecting to other help. The Atlanta office serves survivors across Georgia. They do not take walk-ins, so start by calling.
The Georgia Citizens Coalition on Hunger is a group in Atlanta that has worked since 1974 to end hunger and poverty. It runs a food pantry and phone line (the Hunger Hotline) that also points people to emergency help. It also runs a community garden, outdoor produce markets, and a group for low-income people to speak up about their rights.
Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) gives free immigration legal help to children who came to the United States without a parent or legal guardian. Its Atlanta office has staff lawyers and works with volunteer lawyers from law firms, companies, and law schools. They help children with their cases and represent them in immigration court.
The Center for Civic Innovation is an Atlanta nonprofit that helps residents understand local government and take part in decisions about their neighborhoods. It offers civic classes, public discussions, leadership coaching, and loans for eligible community organizations. It moved from Edgewood Avenue to the Prince Hall Masonic Building at 330 Auburn Avenue NE.
