MANCHESTER, NH – The NH Center for Justice and Equity is a newly formed non-profit that will focus on advancing issues of racial, economic justice and health equity in New Hampshire. The NH Center for Justice & Equity will also seek to foster a greater dialogue among Granite Staters, including those in leadership positions, to find actionable solutions to systemic racism that will better reflect New Hampshire’s realities and values. The organization will officially launch in late September.
According to Anthony Poore, President and CEO, “We envision a New Hampshire that offers fair opportunities for all Granite Staters, regardless of your age, gender, who you love, where you grew up, or the language of origin you speak.”
The New Hampshire Center for Justice & Equity will focus on New Hampshire’s communities of color and similarly marginalized communities. The Center will act as a Convener across various stakeholders and sectors, building relationships and power. According to Poore, it will engage and encourage more people to take part in fostering human and capital resource sharing, particularly when similar efforts are often siloed, duplicative and under-resourced.
The work of the New Hampshire Center for Justice & Equity encourages communication, coordination, and collaboration across issues and opportunities, as well as operational support to current projects in the following areas (law enforcement/criminal justice, civic engagement, government, education, health, and economic development). Over time the Center will fully integrate those efforts and bring them to scale.
“We will provide backbone support to those projects that are already underway, with the understanding, these efforts must be aligned and focused on structural reforms, collaboration across sectors, and an understanding that social change requires a deep understanding of complex systems, power sharing, trust, and communication”, according to Poore.
The opening event for the launch of The NH Center for Equity and Justice will take place in late September. According to Poore “the goal of the event is to demonstrate our gratitude for the work that has come before us and introduce the NH Center for Justice & Equity, its Board of Directors, Guiding Principles and Program Pillars. We have the benefit of the momentum we’ve built over time and the Center and its Board, have an obligation and responsibility to ensure our work is strategic, durable and resilient over time”.
Poore points out the benefits of an investment of time working with small nonprofits, “they are young institutions that have a ton of energy, vision and desire, but lack experience with organizational systems, structures, and governance models. I want to continue to work with them to provide support to these institutions as they work to get their feet firmly planted”.
Poore eventually wants to see the Center become a community development financial institution (CDFI), moving real capital into these communities, in uniquely beneficial and democratic ways.
“For me this is a culmination of my work over 30 years coming to bear at one singular point. I recognize the responsibility that lies ahead, but it’s also what I’ve been working for all my career. I understand how systems work and I want to use all these resources in support of the Center’s mission.”
Poore says the Center takes inspiration from Frederick Douglass, who tirelessly fought for emancipation and full citizenship for African Americans. He founded the abolitionist newspaper The North Star in December 1847. The masthead read: “Right is of no sex; truth is of no color, God is the Father of us all–and all are brethren.”
Learn more about the Center and get involved at nhcje.org
