Grassroots Leadership is an grassroots organization based in Austin, Texas that advocates against for-profit incarceration and for left-of-center criminal justice policies in order to “transform the immigration and justice systems.” ¹

Grassroots Leadership has also been part of several coalitions that have demanded legal representation for pre-trial detainees in Travis County, Texas at their first court appearances as well as opposing the building of a new women’s jail in Travis County, Texas. ^{2 3}

Background

Grassroots Leadership was founded by Si Kahn, who was an activist and organizer in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the Civil Rights Movement. It was originally based in North Carolina. ⁴

Grassroots Leadership’s claims to advocate an end to mass incarceration, deportation, and criminalization. The organization supports “reimagining a community without policing.” ⁴

Grassroots Leadership wrote an article on Medium in June 2023, entitled “We need to build a reliable ecosystem for Trans and Intersex people who are incarcerated.” The two articles preceding it were entitled, “Reform is not helping and we demand more: Here’s why we believe abolition is the way forward” and “Why should funders give to abolitionist BIPOC-led orgs?” ⁵

Initiatives

ICE out of Austin/ICE Fuera De Austin

ICE out of Austin is a community project of immigrants that opposes deportation. Its activities include accompanying immigrants to resolve tickets and fines in court and asking general questions about a case or a charge. It also visits and advocates for immigrants detained in prison and organizes campaigns against deportation. ⁵

Mujeres Luchadoras

Mujeres Luchadoras is a community-building group for women who have served time in immigration detention. Members advocate for their own asylum cases and for the release of others who remain in immigration detention in central Texas. ⁶

Participatory Defense

Participatory Defense uses community organizing to assist people who have been charged and their families that attempt to “transform the court system’s power landscape.” ⁷

Texas Advocates for Justice

Texas Advocates for Justice is a group for formerly incarcerated individuals and their families that claim organize and connect to community resources while reentering society following their incarceration. ⁸

Other Projects

Care Not Cages addresses “ongoing issues” where the group claims the justice system fails minorities. End Operation Lone Star is a project that opposes the Texas state initiative Operation Lone Star meant to curb illegal immigration and smuggling. Grassroots Leadership has claimed the initiative is unconstitutional and discriminatory due to promoting “racial profiling” that “fuels the mass incarceration of people of color, and encourages white supremacy rhetoric.” ⁹ Counsel at First Appearance advocates for an “equitable” pretrial process by providing holistic legal representation in Travis County, with a particular focus on “transformative justice.” ¹⁰ Register to Vote Texas is a get-out-the-vote campaign that focuses on local elections. ¹¹

Leadership

Annette Price is the executive director of Grassroots Leadership. ¹² Price previously served 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for killing a man whom she alleges raped her, and was released in 2005. She was granted an early end to parole supervision in 2008. ^{13 14}

Dianna Williams is the deputy director of Grassroots Leadership. ¹²

Tax forms list Latresse Cooke, Kathy Dyer, Jacinta Gonzalez, Josue Guillen, and Karen Keith as members of Grassroots Leadership. Darwin Hamilton and Nicole Porter are listed as co-chairs, Hope Mustakim is listed as committee governor, Stephanie Taylor is listed as secretary, and Michael Young is listed as treasurer. ¹⁵

Financials

For the fiscal year ending in December 2022, Grassroots Leadership reported revenue of $2,581,033 and expenses of $1,967,475. ¹⁶ The group reported $74,441 of expenses from its criminal justice programs, $188,838 of expenses from its immigration programs, and $1,394,866 from general programs. ¹⁷

Workers Defense Project granted $40,000 to Grassroots Leadership as a pass-through grant in the fiscal year ending in December 2020, but the latter does not show any grantees on its tax returns. ¹⁸

1. Grassroots Leadership Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part I Line 1.
2. Jensen, Lizzie. 2024. Review of Advocates Call for Travis County to Implement a Plan for Counsel at First Appearance. KXAN News. June 19, 2024. https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/advocates-call-for-travis-county-to-implement-a-plan-for-counsel-at-first-appearance/.
3. Fisher, Lina. 2021. “Women’s Jail Vote Postponed amid Community Pushback.” Austinchronicle.com. Austin Chronicle. June 11, 2021. https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2021-06-11/womens-jail-vote-postponed-amid-community-pushback/.
4. “Mission.” Grassroots Leadership. https://www.grassrootsleadership.org/mission.
5. Grassroots Leadership – Medium.” Medium, 2023, medium.com/@grassrootsleadership.
6. Mujeres Luchadoras — Grassroots Leadership. “Grassroots Leadership.” Grassroots Leadership, www.grassrootsleadership.org/ice-out-of-austin.
7. Participatory Defense — Grassroots Leadership. “Grassroots Leadership.” Grassroots Leadership, www.grassrootsleadership.org/ice-out-of-austin.
8. Texas Advocates for Justice — Grassroots Leadership. “Grassroots Leadership.” Grassroots Leadership, https://www.grassrootsleadership.org/texas-advocates-for-justice.
9. End Operation Lone Star — Grassroots Leadership. “Grassroots Leadership.” Grassroots Leadership, 2014, www.grassrootsleadership.org/ice-out-of-austin.
10. “Council at First Appearance.” Grassroots Leadership, 27 June 2024, www.grassrootsleadership.org/cafa.
11. “Register to Vote Texas.” Grassroots Leadership, 2024, www.grassrootsleadership.org/vote.
12. “Our Team.” Grassroots Leadership, 2014, www.grassrootsleadership.org/ourteam.
13. ​​Hasan, Syeda. “How Austin’s Housing Market Locks out People with Criminal Records.” KUT Radio, Austin’s NPR Station, KUT, 5 Oct. 2017, www.kut.org/austin/2017-10-05/how-austins-housing-market-locks-out-people-with-criminal-records.
14. “Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice.” Utexas.edu, University of Texas, 2024, law.utexas.edu/humanrights/directory/annette-price/.
15. Grassroots Leadership Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part VII, Section A, Line 1a.
16. Grassroots Leadership Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part I, Lines 12 and 18.
17. Grassroots Leadership Inc., Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2022, Part III, Lines 4a, 4b and 4c.
18. Workers Defense Project Inc, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990), 2021, Schedule I, Part II, Line 1.