Green-Collar Communities Clinic
Jalle Dafa and Sushil Jacob

Program Area: Poverty Alleviation & Economic Development
Location of Impact: Bay Area, California

Bold Idea: Provide black men with legal records the opportunity to become entrepreneurs through a community-based legal and business clinic.

Why We Are Passionate About This: Black men are experiencing a crisis in unemployment at nearly twice the average national rate. Research shows that white men with felony records are more likely to find work than black men without records. Jalle, the daughter of a clinical social worker at a juvenile rehabilitation center, grew up talking about racial justice at the dinner table She’s also watched the criminal justice system influence the paths of her friends. In Oakland, Sushil sees the extreme inequities that black men face daily and has been awarded a legal fellowship to establish social equality for this population. Driven by a shared passion for economic justice, we conducted a community needs assessment and determined that a legal clinic could address the underlying lack of economic opportunities. GC3 addresses the jobs crisis and lack of wealth in Bay Area black communities by serving as a full-service business incubator. GC3 ultimately will create and promote locally-owned businesses for black men with law enforcement/legal records by partnering with UC graduate schools to offer workshops, advice, and legal and business clinics.

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These profiles are derived from Fellowship applications.