ArchCity Defenders, Inc.

Through organizing, litigation, and advocacy we have prevented and delayed some "sweeps" in St. Louis. A city's choice to discard people and their remaining valuable belongings is a form of state violence we are committed to continue challenging.

Swept Away: What Cities Really Take When They Sweep Homeless Encampments People say having their possessions — from birth certificates to loved ones’ ashes — taken in “sweeps” traumatizes them, exacerbates health issues and undermines efforts to find housing and get or keep a job.

Join us for a night of trivia at Wellspent Brewing Company to help raise funds for the ACD Holiday Gift Drive! 20% of Wellspent Brewing's profits will go straight to this worthy cause. Don’t miss out—let’s make this holiday season brighter together!

bit.ly/ACD-gift-drive-trivia

Join ArchCity Defenders lawyers for upcoming Continuing Legal Education seminars: "Wanteds" in November, "Fair Housing and Homelessness" in December, and "Municipal Ordinance Defense" in January. We're going to keep the Continuing Legal Education coming and invite you to join us in the fight! 🥊

Learn more: bit.ly/ACD-CLE

The holiday season is meant to be a time of joy, but for many facing financial hardships, it can be a real struggle. ACD's Annual Holiday Gift Drive aims to brighten the season for families in need, helping them celebrate in their own meaningful way. Your generous donations can bring joy and warmth into their homes this holiday season.

Please consider donating today to help make their holidays a little brighter: bit.ly/ACDholiday24

ACD's special edition annual report is now online! It celebrates 15 years of holistic legal advocacy and highlights key moments from 2023 to 2024. https://loom.ly/6lP1Qgg

For tickets: bit.ly/ACD15years

Only a few spaces left!! Join us at our upcoming 15-year Anniversary Showcase. There will be drinks; dancing; and reminiscing about the journey thus far, the pivotal moment we currently find ourselves in,
and time to dream together about what the next 15 years look like.

To register: bit.ly/ACD15years

Event update!! We're excited to announce Mo E All-Stars and Tracy (T-spirit) Stanton will be joining our 15-year Anniversary Showcase! We're delighted these STL legends will be part of the program.

Have you got your tickets yet?

ArchCity Defenders 15th Anniversary Showcase Save the date!

We are two weeks shy of our 15-Year Anniversary Showcase!
Get your tickets before they run out!

bit.ly/ACD15years

Time is running out! Act soon to see if you’re eligible to receive money.

🌞FREEDOM SUMMER IS A WRAP!🥵

Across four events, we connected with 900+ people; provided one-on-one legal consultation to more than 110 people on housing and expungement issues; hosted political education conversations on abolition, voting, democracy, tenant rights, and transformative justice; distributed hundreds of Pro Se legal guides; and so much more.

Deep appreciation to our partners, teams, interns, volunteers, and community for making it possible.

This is only the beginning! Connect with our partners to learn how to stay involved:

Action St. Louis
Freedom Community Center
Missouri Voter Protection Coalition
Tenants Transforming Greater St.Louis
Deaconess Foundation

Our last Freedom Summer event is this Wednesday evening. Bring a friend & we’ll see you there!

Are you ready for a transformative semester? We're accepting applications to our 2024 fall internship program! Apply now at bit.ly/ACD-Fall-Interns

Curious what your internship experience will look like and what you'll learn? Read what our previous interns have to say at bit.ly/jj05

Please help us welcome our new Staff Attorney, Ebony McKeever!

Raised in the Midwest, Ebony joined ACD in July of 2024 as a staff attorney in the Civil Litigation Department. Ebony was first drawn to ACD after an acquaintance received a settlement payment from ACD’s class actions combatting debtors’ prisons. Before joining ACD, Ebony practiced law at a private firm in Iowa—however, Ebony’s primary goal in obtaining a law degree was always to help others and effectuate equality.

"I first heard about ArchCity Defenders when my friend Li-Mae began interning for the organization during our final year of law school. A couple years later, an acquaintance of mine received settlement money from the
Baker v. Florissant class action—represented by ACD. Researching the Baker case naturally lead to me looking into ACD more in depth, and was a contributing factor to me deciding to apply for a staff attorney position.

Moving forward with ACD, I will represent both individuals and classes of people who have had their constitutional rights violated. It is my hope that I will help our clients achieve some level of restitution for the injustices they've suffered."

Join a passionate team of advocates fighting the criminalization of poverty and state violence in communities of color! Apply now for our Director of Finance & Operations position!

Learn more: bit.ly/ACD-employment

Curious about abolition? Join us & partners next week as we dive into topics like abolition, transformative justice, housing and voting rights.

Food & refreshments available until we run out!

Are you a student wanting to be part of something meaningful? Applications for our Fall 2024 internships are still open. Opportunities linked below:

Fall 2024 Internship program

Please help us welcome our new Staff Attorney, Li-Mae McNehlan!

Li-Mae (she/her) went to law school to pursue skills and education that would allow her to address systemic injustices. She has a particular interest in race, gender, and reproductive justice. She joined ACD as a staff attorney in criminal and municipal defense in 2024 after interning with that department during her final year of law/grad school.

"Shortly after I moved to St. Louis in 2017, I was involved with some of the many community actions in response to the Stockley verdict. I first heard of ACD through other protestors who would recommend you write their number on your arm in the event you were arrested. In fact, many people were arrested and subjected to police abuse during those protests, and ACD worked to vindicate their rights. I’ve followed ACD’s work ever since.

When I decided to go back to school for law, I was motivated by the desire to counter suffering caused by state and systemic injustices. I was naturally drawn to ACD not only because I had seen their work in action and the concrete good it had done, but because their vision and values are unabashedly anti-racist, abolitionist, and community-centered.

In my current role, I feel very lucky to play a small part in helping my clients by representing them in criminal and municipal matters in a system that is so often stacked against them. I also look forward to applying my interest and knowledge in reproductive justice to develop resources targeted toward gender equity in criminal and municipal representation."

This week we will be highlighting several new additions to the ACD team. Please help us welcome one of our new Staff Attorney, Brianna Coppersmith!

Born and raised in St. Louis, Brianna worked in higher education prior to attending SLU Law. After law school, Brianna clerked at the Missouri Court of Appeals before joining ACD in June 2024. As a staff attorney on the Civil Litigation team, Brianna’s work focuses on issues including police brutality and jail conditions.

"I first learned about ACD in 2014 through a series of chance encounters at a grocery store with one of the organization's founders. Over the next decade, I watched in admiration as ACD's ongoing impact litigation, particularly around debtors' prisons, shifted carceral practices across the region and the state.

When I started law school, I hoped to eventually practice at ArchCity because of its abolitionist mission and steadfast commitment to the people of St. Louis. Now, as a staff attorney on the civil rights litigation team, I look forward to working alongside clients to advocate for the preservation and expansion of their legal rights."

Our Executive Director, Blake Strode, in conversation with Tef Poe, Derecka Purnell, and Walter Johnson — reflecting on the 10 years since the Ferguson Uprising and killing of Michael Brown.

Via

Ferguson at Ten: The World Ferguson Made | INQUEST Three activists from 'the Michael Brown generation' reflect on what changed in St. Louis after the uprisings—and what didn’t.

St. Louis’s political landscape has transformed dramatically over the past decade. The city is home to a vibrant, radical organizing network that is hard to find anywhere else in the country. Jails have closed, reparations commissions have been established, and progressive leaders have been elected. Much of this change traces back to the pivotal event of Mike Brown's killing.

In this season finale episode, hosts Blake and Kayla reflect on the 10-year anniversary of Mike Brown’s killing and the Ferguson Uprising, how the region has honored his legacy, and the need for further structural change. We also hear reflections from friends and former guests of the podcast— Congresswoman Cori Bush, Damon Davis, Jae Shepherd, Mike Milton, Fran Griffin, Brittany Ferrell Young, and Cathy (Mama Cat) Daniels—on what Mike Brown means to them and their hopes for the future of the movement.

Mike Brown forever!