Advocates for Social Justice Reform (ASJR) is an activist group in Austin, Texas that advocates for left-of center criminal justice policies within the region including changes to police procedures. 1
Background
Advocates for Social Justice Reform (ASJR) is an advocacy group in Austin, Texas that promotes left-of-center criminal justice policies. It is associated with the social justice programs of Temple Beth Shalom and Congregation Beth Israel. Others in this group include Refugee Services of Texas, Texas Anti-Poverty Project, Religious Action Center – Texas, and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). 1
Focus Areas
Advocates for Social Justice Reform’s (ASJRs) focus areas include providing legal representation, encouraging the evaluation of cases for dismissal before a court date, raising funds for services to aid in preventing women from going to prison, and changes to police procedures. 1
Advocacy
In 2023, Advocates for Social Justice Reform (ASJR) endorsed Proposition A, the Austin Police Oversight Act, which allows residents to file anonymous complaints against police procedural against the Austin Police Department. Other groups that endorsed this proposition included ACLU of Texas, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1624, Black Lives Matter Austin, Far Northwest Progressives, Liberal Austin Democrats, NAACP – Austin, The Party for Socialism and Liberation – Austin, Sunrise Movement, Texas Civil Rights Project, and Workers Defense Action Fund. 2 3
In June 2024, ASJR members protested in front of the Travis County Administration Building to demand the County Commissioners Court and the Travis County sheriff to implement “counsel at first appearance (CAFA)” or having the county provide legal representation for convicts at their the initial bail hearings. Other left-of-center groups that joined ASJR included Grassroots Leadership, the Austin area Urban League, and the Texas Civil Rights Project. This followed a class-action lawsuit by ACLU of Texas against the county for not providing CAFA. According to ASJR founding member Bob Batlan, his organization was started in 2019 with CAFA as a top priority. 4 5 6
In June 2024, roughly 50 activists from several left-of-center groups, including ASJR, attended a meeting with the Travis County Commissioners Court in which they voiced opposition to $300 million plan to expand the juvenile jail. 7
In September 2024, ASJR organized an event within the Commissioners Courtroom at the Travis County Administration Building to demand “an adequate budget for Counsel At First Appearance for Travis County Jail Detainees.” 8 Other groups in attendance included Grassroots Leadership, the Foundation for the Austin Sanctuary Network, VOCAL Texas, the Austin Area Urban League, and Equity Action. 8
People
Ofelia Maldonado Zapata is a co-founder of Advocates for Social Justice Reform (ASJR). She serves as a board member of the Austin Independent School District (ISD) since 2020. 9 As of 2024, she was the head of the Central Texas Interfaith (formerly Austin Interfaith) organization, was a community representative in the Travis County Public Defender’s Office, the community organizer for the Texas Anti-Poverty Project 10 11 and serves as president of the legal aid group San Jose Social Justice Ministry. 12
Bob Batlan is a co-founder member of ASJR. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and worked for several tech companies including IBM and Dell. He also worked as a full-time volunteer for several nonprofit groups in 2001. 13
ASJR member Tom Downing is a retired United Methodist minister of adult education at First Church in Dallas, Texas. 6 He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in political science. He obtained degrees in theology and in computer science and worked as a Methodist pastor and a director of academic computing at Southern Methodist University. He retired in 2016 to Austin to focus on writing and “progressive political causes.” He co-chairs of University United Methodist Church Racial Justice Ministry. 14
References
- “A Word from Your Social Justice Coordinator.” Temple Beth Shalom. May 28, 2021. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.bethshalomaustin.org/social-justice-news-blog
- “Past Campaigns.” Equity Action. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://equityactionatx.org/who-we-are/
- Ben Thompson. “Austin’s police oversight ballot items, propositions A and B, explained.” Community Impact. April 24, 2023. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://communityimpact.com/austin/central-austin/election/2023/04/24/austins-police-oversight-ballot-items-propositions-a-and-b-explained/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThe%20real%20Austin%20Police%20Oversight%20Act%2C%20Prop%20A%2C,President%20Chris%20Harris%20said%20in%20a%20February%20statement.
- Mikala Compton. “Local advocacy organizations call on Travis County to implement counsel at first appearance.” Austin American-Statesman. June 18, 2024. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.statesman.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2024/06/18/travis-county-counsel-at-first-appearance-austin-tx-advocacy-organizations-press-conference-photos/74140915007/
- Lizzie Jensen. “Advocates call for Travis County to implement a plan for counsel at first appearance.” KXAN. June 19, 2024. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/advocates-call-for-travis-county-to-implement-a-plan-for-counsel-at-first-appearance/
- Lina Fisher. “Stakeholders urge county to hurry up on implementing legal defense at bail hearings.” Austin Monitor. June 20, 2024. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2024/06/stakeholders-urge-county-to-hurry-up-on-implementing-legal-defense-at-bail-hearings/
- Lina Fisher. “Justice advocates rebuke county plan for $300 million juvenile jail expansion.” Austin Monitor. July 11, 2024. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.austinmonitor.com/stories/2024/07/justice-advocates-rebuke-county-plan-for-300-million-juvenile-jail-expansion/
- “Testify with us! Demand an adequate budget for Counsel At First Appearance for Travis County Jail Detainees.” Grassroots Leadership – Events. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.grassrootsleadership.org/events/testifywithuscafa
- “Ofelia Maldonado Zapata.” Ballotpedia. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://ballotpedia.org/Ofelia_Maldonado_Zapata
- “About Us.” Central Texas Interfaith. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.centraltexasinterfaith.org/about-us
- Sally Hernandez. “Longtime Austin activist, AISD school board member giving back to her community for 30 years.” KXAN. March 22, 2023. Updated March 29, 2023. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.kxan.com/news/local/austin/longtime-austin-activist-aisd-school-board-member-giving-back-to-her-community-for-30-years/
- Rubén Parra-Cardona, Ofelia Zapata, Maria Emerson, Deliana Garcia, Rev. Jairo Sandoval-Pliego. “Faith-Based Organizations as Leaders of Implementation. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Summer 2021. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://ssir.org/articles/entry/faith_based_organizations_as_leaders_of_implementation
- LinkedIn – Bob Batlan. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-batlan-90a78b1/
- “Tom Downing.” Amazon – About the Author. Accessed September 5, 2024. https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08KGSJK3H/about