Community Justice Project (CJP) is a legal aid organization based in South Florida that offers direct representation, engages in litigation, organizes protests, and writes research papers that address issues surrounding voting, housing, illegal immigration, and incarceration. ¹

CJP states that equality can only come from social movements and as a result it “works with community based organizations…[and is] deeply and unapologetically committed to Black and brown communities organizing in Florida.” ² It partners with the Black Lives Matter Alliance, Organize Florida, and New Florida Majority. ³

Voting

In 2024, the Community Justice Project represented Florida Rising Together in a lawsuit against the Florida Attorney General and Secretary of State calling Florida’s exact match voter registration program illegal and unconstitutional. A director at Florida Rising alleged that the verification program, which requires a voter’s name and social security number to match exactly with those in the state’s database constituted  “blatant discrimination and oppression at the hands of elected officials.” ⁴

CJP’s suit alleged that this verification process targets Black voters, stating “Black voter registration applicants have been rejected at a rate more than twice their share of the registrant pool, while white applicants are denied registration at a smaller fraction of their share of the electorate.” ⁴

Housing

The Community Justice Project worked in conjunction with Faith in Florida to oppose the $800 million investment St. Petersburg offered to the Tampa Bay Rays professional baseball team for renovations to their stadium which was destroyed by Hurricane Milton in 2024. ⁵ The city is currently investing over $6.5 billion ⁶ into revitalization efforts in the Historic Gas Plant District which CJP states is part of a “decades-long campaign to permanently displace the residents of the historically Black Gas Plant community.” ⁵

The CJP-backed movement sought to force the Tampa Bay Rays to stay in Saint Petersburg, pay taxes on the stadium, pay for the stadium without tax dollars, and avoid gentrifying the district.  ⁵ In 2025, the owner of the team decided to cancel the renovations in favor of selling the team or moving to a new city, and did not take the money from St. Petersburg. ⁶

Immigration

In 2018, lawyers from the Community Justice Project helped WeCount and the Florida Immigration Coalition filed a class action lawsuit against Miami-Dade County for detaining individuals in compliance with orders from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). These individuals represented by these advocacy groups were arrested for driving without a license and brought to the county jail. They both posted bail but were rearrested on behalf of ICE and kept in the county jail. The suit alleged that it was unconstitutional to keep these individuals in a county jail and that the officers were not required to comply with the orders from ICE. ⁷

Incarceration

Between 2022 and 2024, the Community Justice Project worked with Beyond the Bars to eliminate outstanding jail debt and fees held by formerly incarcerated individuals and their families. The program wanted charges removed for necessities like phone calls, uniforms, medical care, and electronic monitoring required while individuals were incarcerated. The campaign raised $10 million to help reduce jail debt in Miami Dade County and officials agreed to get rid of around $100 million in outstanding jail debt. ⁸

Donation Recipients

Alliance for Youth Organizing (AFYO)

Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC)

Florida Rising Together

Miami Workers Center (MWC)

Southeast Climate & Energy Network

Food and Water Watch (FWW)

Miami Climate Alliance ⁹

Donor Organizations

Amalgamated Charitable Foundation

Borealis Philanthropy

Center for Popular Democracy (CPD)

Echoing Green

Equal Justice Works

Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift Fund

Miami Foundation

Neo Philanthropy

New Venture Fund

Proteus Fund

Right to the City Alliance

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors

Taproot Earth ¹⁰

1. “Current Campaigns.” Community Justice Project. Accessed September 1, 2025. https://www.communityjusticeproject.com/currentcampaigns. 
2. “Our Mission.” Community Justice Project. Accessed September 1, 2025. https://www.communityjusticeproject.com/mission. 
3. “Partners.” Community Justice Project. Accessed September 1, 2025. https://www.communityjusticeproject.com/partners. 
4. “Protecting Voters Rights in Florida.” Community Justice Project. Accessed September 1, 2025. https://www.communityjusticeproject.com/vote. 
5. “St. Pete Is Not For Sale! Historic Gas Plant Neighborhood.” Community Justice Project. Accessed September 1, 2025. https://www.communityjusticeproject.com/gasplant. 
6. “Tampa Bay Rays Not Moving Forward with New Stadium Plans.” ESPN, March 13, 2025. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44236578/tampa-bay-rays-not-moving-forward-new-stadium-plans. 
7. “Fighting ICE Detainers.” Community Justice Project, July 23, 2018. https://www.communityjusticeproject.com/detainers. 
8. “Fair Working for Taxis.” Community Justice Project. Accessed September 1, 2025. https://www.communityjusticeproject.com/jailfees. 
9. Community Justice Project, Form 990, 2023, Schedule I. 
10. “Community Justice Project.” ProPublica. Accessed September 1, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/full_text_search?sort=name&form%5B%5D=IRS990ScheduleI&q=47-2777185&submit=Apply.