ANNUAL EVENTS
Each year, the Southern Center for Human Rights hosts a series of special events and receptions that bring together supporters, partners, and community to celebrate progress and sustain the work ahead.
These gatherings honor leadership, mark key moments in our shared fight for justice, and help power our litigation and advocacy. From the Frederick Douglass Awards Dinner to Justice Taking Root and our regional receptions in New York and San Francisco, each event reflects SCHR’s commitment to dignity, accountability, and collective action.
SCHR also hosts lectures, film screenings, and discussions focused on educating our communities about the perils of the criminal justice system.
Sponsorship Opportunities
We always seek community partnerships through sponsorships and in-kind contributions to support these events. For additional information, contact Kate McNeely at [email protected] or (404) 688-1202.
SCHR's Annual Events
The Frederick Douglass Awards Dinner is the Southern Center for Human Rights’s flagship annual gathering to recognize and celebrate those who demonstrate exceptional courage and tenacity in the defense of human rights and equal justice. Named for Frederick Douglass, the dinner honors leaders and allies whose work confronts entrenched systems of harm and expands what justice can look like in practice.
It is a moment to celebrate impact, recognize those who have helped shape a more just future, and recommit to defending dignity in the face of entrenched systems of harm.
Proceeds from the Frederick Douglass Awards Dinner support SCHR’s ongoing efforts to protect the civil and human rights of people impacted by the criminal legal system and to advance dignity, accountability, and lasting change. The evening sustains SCHR’s ability to take on the most challenging cases, confront injustice head-on, and continue building a criminal legal system rooted in humanity rather than punishment.
Justice Taking Root is an annual gathering hosted by SCHR that brings together supporters and partners who believe that lasting justice is built over time through deep relationships, steady commitment, and shared purpose. Justice Taking Root is both a celebration and a grounding moment, honoring the work happening now while investing in the future of SCHR’s litigation, advocacy, and coalition-building. It reflects a belief that justice does not happen all at once, but grows stronger when it is nurtured, protected, and sustained together.
Proceeds from the Southern Center for Human Right’s Justice Taking Root annual benefit reception provide unrestricted support for our work for equality, dignity, and justice in the criminal legal system. Further, this evening grants us an opportunity to thank friends and partners and to introduce new friends to SCHR.
The San Francisco Reception is an annual benefit and community gathering that brings supporters, friends, and allies together on the West Coast to connect with SCHR’s work and mission. Hosted with the support of local partners and the legacy of longtime advocates for justice, this reception offers an opportunity to hear updates on our legal and advocacy efforts, strengthen relationships, and build cross-regional solidarity for ending systemic harm in the criminal legal system.
Hosted annually in New York City, our New York Benefit Reception offers an opportunity to gather in community, hear directly about SCHR’s litigation and advocacy, and invest in the ongoing fight against the most severe harms of the criminal legal system. The evening reflects the vital role of national partnership in sustaining this work and underscores the shared responsibility of advancing dignity, fairness, and human rights.
