Stories of Local Activism #11
Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Atlanta
Organizing and Advocating for Civil Rights
Atlanta, Georgia
Asian Americans Advancing Justice–Atlanta (AJA) is the first nonprofit legal advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AANHPI) and Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian (AMEMSA) communities across Georgia and the Southeast.
Founded in 2010 as the Asian American Legal Advocacy Center (AALAC), the organization joined the Asian Americans Advancing Justice affiliation in 2014. Since then, it has organized its work around four focus areas: Policy Advocacy, Civic Engagement & Organizing, Impact Litigation, and Legal Services.
Mission
AJA’s mission is to advance justice in a broad multiracial movement and build power within AAPI, AMEMSA, and immigrant communities across Georgia and the Southeast.
The AJA Story
Source: AJA
What They Do
Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta has four core program areas.
1. Policy Advocacy
AJA shapes public policy affecting immigrants in Georgia, working with community partners to oppose harmful legislation and advance inclusive access (education, healthcare, mobility) regardless of race, language, or immigration status.
2. Civic Engagement & Organizing
AJA builds long-term community power through education, leadership development, issue and electoral campaigns, and coalition-building. Initiatives include voter engagement, election protection (poll monitoring, transportation, interpretation, hotlines), and community organizing.
3. Impact Litigation
AJA combines civil-rights litigation with community education and policy advocacy. It focuses particularly on immigrant justice and voting rights, including challenges to detention/deportation practices and litigation tied to language access and discriminatory voting policies.
4. Legal Services
AJA provides direct immigration legal services (including representation before immigration court and government agencies. The program also offers clinics, workshops, and know-your-rights education, delivered by a multilingual team and often structured for low-income access (e.g., sliding scale and fee waivers).
How They Do It
-
Georgia Leadership Lab: a 5-month cohort experience for immigrant-rights advocates that builds storytelling and transformative leadership, including convenings, coaching, and a public storytelling capstone.
-
Nonpartisan Candidate Training: a two-day training (running since 2013) designed to equip participants to run for office and cover campaign fundamentals (message, fundraising/legal compliance, outreach, media/public speaking, election law/ethics).
-
Free Legal Clinics: Regular counseling and assistance to meet with an immigration attorney to assess participant’s eligibility for any immigration relief or benefits.
-
Policy reports & Explainers: publishes policy research and reports on issues like language access in elections and anti-immigrant/anti-democratic legislative threats.
-
Community Resource Guide & Know Your Rights Trainings: maintains a multilingual resource guide and runs community-facing efforts Community Resource Guides and Know Your Rights presentations.
Hear from Their Leader
Source: AJA
Theory of Change
Political, legal, legislative, and other public institutions deeply influence the daily lives of our communities, yet too often reinforce inequities under the banner of democracy. Through bold approaches to community organizing and education, policy advocacy, legal services, litigation, and civic engagement, Advancing Justice-Atlanta (AJA) builds power in working-class, language minority AAPI, AMEMSA, and immigrant communities. AJA works in progressive multiracial coalitions to realize a fully reflective and inclusive democracy. Their impact reaches across Georgia and the Southeast.
Take Action
-
Share this story with your network.
-
Connect with Advancing Justice–Atlanta
Website: advancingjustice-atlanta.org
Instagram: @AdvancingJusticeAtlanta
Facebook: @AdvancingJusticeAtlanta
LinkedIn: @AdvancingJusticeAtlanta
Contact AJA Team: contact page
