MLK50: Justice Through Journalism has been awarded a one-year, $100,000 project grant from Public Welfare Foundation to deepen our public safety reporting and community engagement efforts.
“Public Welfare Foundation invests in ecosystems of change in the places we work to catalyze transformative justice,” said Thena Robinson Mock, vice president of programs at Public Welfare Foundation. “Public safety reporting that abides by journalistic ethos of accuracy and honesty, interrogates the status quo and gets to the heart of what makes communities feel safe is part of a thriving ecosystem for change. MLK50 is a beacon of public safety reporting in Tennessee, and we’re honored to invest in its innovative journalism.”
The investment is part of a larger effort by PWF to expand its grantmaking into the state, making Tennessee the foundation’s ninth jurisdiction. PWF selects states that are “ripe for transformation” when it comes to the criminal justice system.
MLK50’s reporting will follow and address public safety issues in Memphis and explore their implications for our readers.
“The criminal justice system is so often used against poor people. Solutions to crime often mean more surveillance, more fees and fines, more arrests as incentives for police advancement,” said MLK50’s executive editor Adrienne Johnson Martin. “With this funding, we have the support we need to interrogate these approaches.”
PWF supports “efforts to advance justice and opportunity for people in need … [that] honor the foundation’s core values of racial equity, economic well-being and fundamental fairness for all.” This is MLK50’s first grant from PWF.
“Public safety is the number one issue in Memphis, and we at MLK50 are determined to steer the civic conversation toward solutions that will truly keep the community safe, and not regressive and reactionary criminal justice policies that have failed for decades,” said Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50’s founder. “In an environment where misinformation and disinformation are rampant, our commitment to the truth is stronger than ever.”
This story is brought to you byMLK50: Justice Through Journalism, a nonprofit newsroom focused on poverty, power and policy in Memphis. Support independent journalism by making a tax-deductible donation today. MLK50 is also supported by these generous donors.