Racism on Trial is a campaign initiated by Justice Collective to reveal and resist racism in Germany’s criminal legal system.
The criminal legal system fines, jails, and sentences to probation hundreds of thousands of people each year. People from racialized and migrantized groups are disproportionately punished by the system, including because they are racially profiled by police.
Punishment by the criminal legal system systemically works to keep in place our current unjust economic and social systems. Punishment serves the border regime, exploits people who are poor, and maintains racial heirarchies.
This mass criminalization is largely out of view for those not affected by it. Most people know little of the system’s day-to-day workings, including of its systemic injustices. Those who are criminalized are often alone in court, without a lawyer or solidarity.
To change this, the Racism on Trial campaign:
- Documents racism on trial through court observations, revealing the injustices we observe in court in our case archive and findings
- Organizes for justice, including by sharing resources for others to courtwatch as activism and materials for people impacted by these systems; and
- Shares the perspectives of other activists and communities impacted by and resisting the systemic injustices of the criminal legal system.
Join us.
