Southern Center for Human Rights

Rest In Power, Brittany Dumas

Brittany Dumas was so many things: a caring mother, a devoted daughter, a tender sibling and aunt, and a very special client of the Southern Center for Human Rights.

In 2025, SCHR represented Ms. Dumas in seeking a medical reprieve from the Georgia Department of Corrections. At the time, she was both pregnant and suffering from a degenerative condition that impaired her ability to move and walk. The path to release was long and arduous, but Ms. Dumas never gave up. She never stopped advocating for herself, for her son, and for their right to be reunited with their loving family. And her efforts bore fruit. In September 2025, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy, she was granted a reprieve, and she returned where she always belonged: home.

Tragically, on Friday, September 11, 2026—at the age of 26—Ms. Dumas passed away at home after a long fight with her illness. But her illness did not define her. We remember her for her fighting spirit, her exceptional sense of humor, and her profound love of her children, mother, and siblings.

There is a fundraising page to help Ms. Dumas’s family with funeral and other end-of-life costs. If you are able, please consider giving any amount you can and please share widely. Donate here: https://www.mightycause.com/story/tc48uf

The Southern Center's largest event of the year is this October in D.C. and you are invited! Join us to celebrate 50 years of impact, and to honor the incredible legacy of Sister Helen Prejean as she accepts the Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award. We'll have dinner, drinks, and dancing at the beautiful Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, which sits directly across from the National Mall. And we have the incredible opportunity to have two talented musical acts join us — KIRBY and SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK®! Join us to celebrate joy, to honor decades of powerful work, and to fund the work towards justice in the Deep South. Info, tickets, and sponsorships at https://schr.ejoinme.org/50yearsforward

It's not too late to sponsor the 50 Years Forward Gala in Washington, D.C. — join us this October to celebrate 50 years of the Southern Center. Sponsors provide powerful support for our mission; visit https://schr.ejoinme.org/sponsor to download our sponsor information booklet or make your commitment today. Our event will honor Sister Helen Prejean with the Frederick Douglass Human Rights Award and feature live music from KIRBY and SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK®. You won't want to miss it!

Sponsor Information Sponsor Information

As August comes to a close, we want to remind everyone it's National Make-A-Will month! Often making a will is inaccessible, and many people don't have estate plans in place to protect their loved ones and leave gifts to the charities that are near and dear to their hearts. If you would like access to free estate planning tools, visit FreeWill, where you can set up your will at no cost in a matter of minutes!

Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple | FreeWill FreeWill lets you make your last will and testament quick, easy, and completely free. It is a simple online legal will maker that helps you compile will forms to print and sign, or to take as a basic will template to an estate planning lawyer. FreeWill is built alongside will making experts.

The Southern Center for Human Rights is honored to recognize Sister Helen Prejean at the 50 Years Forward Gala with the Human Rights Award in recognition of her tireless, transformative work to end the death penalty.

Known around the world for her courageous advocacy, Sister Helen has helped spark a national dialogue on capital punishment and played a pivotal role in shaping the Catholic Church’s opposition to executions.

Her groundbreaking memoir, Dead Man Walking, brought the realities of the death penalty into the public view and has since been adapted into an Academy Award-winning film, a play, the most-performed new opera of the 21st century, and most recently, a graphic edition.

For decades, Sister Helen has given voice to those on death row and challenged us to confront the human cost of the death penalty.

SCHR is proud to honor her legacy of courage, compassion, and justice as we look 50 Years Forward on Thursday, October 22, 2026, at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.

Link for more information: https://www.schr.org/50yearsforward/

📢 BIG NEWS: The People’s Voice Act has officially been introduced!

Join us tomorrow, August 27 at 7:00 PM for a community town hall at the SCHR office to talk about what this means for our communities. We’ll share updates, answer questions, and discuss the path forward.

Councilmember Kelsea Bond, a key champion of this legislation, will join us at the townhall to talk about the legislation and answer your questions. Councilmember Bond's leadership and commitment have been instrumental in advancing this effort, and we look forward to recognizing their work alongside other councilmembers who have been invited to join the conversation.

Register here: https://form.jotform.com/262246459427060
Light refreshments will be served.

Date: August 27, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: SCHR, 60 Walton St NW, Atlanta, Ga 30303

Have you thought about creating a will, but unsure of where to start? Not knowing where to begin is one of the major barriers to creating a will. Estate planning plays a critical role in creating financial stability for families and supporting their charitable giving while shrinking the racial wealth gap. Consumer reports tells us that significantly more people of color do not have a will compared to white people with 77% of Black people, and 82% of Latinx people having no wills. At SCHR, we value resource sharing as a critical part of the work we do. August is National Make a Will Month and Black Philanthropy Month, so we wanted to make sure you know about FreeWill. Check out their resources, which can help guide you through the process of establishing your will at no cost.

Write Your Legal Will Online, Free & Simple | FreeWill FreeWill lets you make your last will and testament quick, easy, and completely free. It is a simple online legal will maker that helps you compile will forms to print and sign, or to take as a basic will template to an estate planning lawyer. FreeWill is built alongside will making experts.

On the 50th anniversary of Gregg v. Georgia, a reflection on joining the fight against a death penalty system whose promise of fairness has never matched its reality.

Truth-telling in the Shadow of Gregg by SCHR attorney, Kendell Long, is now live on our Substack. https://thesoutherncenter.substack.com/p/truth-telling-in-the-shadow-of-gregg