About Us
The Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice is committed to ensuring that grassroots communities take the lead in developing the policies and programs that the Center facilitates in order to transform those communities socially and economically. Our philosophy is that community organizing and capacity building in grassroots communities of color in Mississippi is essential to establishing immediate, broadly-shared economic opportunity for poor people in the short-term and to create a mass movement for economic, social, and racial justice to establish a socially democratic economic and political system in the long run. That is why the Center is the first of its kind in Mississippi to address the intersection of race, poverty, educational inequity and economic justice.
Our Nameshake
Justice Reuben V. Anderson
Justice Reuben V. Anderson was born September of 1942 in Mississippi. His father was a bricklayer and his great-great grandparents were slaves. Justice Anderson graduated from Tougaloo College in 1964, and earned his law degree in 1967 from the University of Mississippi Law School. Justice Anderson served as a Jackson Municipal Court judge from 1976 to 1977, Hinds County Court Judge from 1977 to 1982, and as a Circuit Court Judge for the Seventh Circuit District, then made up of Hinds and Yazoo counties, from 1982 to 1985. From 1985 to 1991 Justice Anderson served as the first African American member of the Supreme Court in Mississippi. The Reuben V. Anderson Center for Justice is proud to call Justice Anderson our namesake.
Our Goals
Advocate for Systemic Change
Foster Inclusive Communities
Empower Communities
