A local office of a faith-based social justice group called the Justice Resource Center of Columbus Indiana has taken an added step of seeking office space since its formation several months ago.
The chapter also is seeking its not-for-profit status, according to Phil Murray, volunteer founder and executive director.
The umbrella group was founded in January 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky, Murray’s hometown. Its mission is to advocate for justice in areas such as housing, employment, judicial matters, education, environment and more, according to the center’s materials.
Its motto is taken from a Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. quote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Murray said he already has been volunteering locally helping people with housing and other matters connected to the center’s mission.
In nearby areas such as Louisville, Kentucky, the Justice Resource Center has pushed to close down drug houses in various neighborhoods and organized trade-guns-for shoes programs to keep neighborhoods safer and to help struggling families meet needs.
Murray said the group “advocates for the civil rights of individuals of every race, creed, color, nationality, gender and religious beliefs.”
The group will work alongside other local groups such as the African American Pastors Alliance and the Columbus/Bartholomew County NAACP Branch and also the Columbus Human Rights Commission, Murray said.
He also emphasized that the group is committed to nonviolence. That is significant because, in other communities, the group has been visible via events such as marches to draw attention to problems.
“We believe in peaceful results,” he said.
