In 1990, the Campaign to Abolish Poverty (CAP) was formed in San Francisco, in the Tenderloin area, an area of high concentration of low-income housing and services for poor and homeless people. CAP launched several economic justice projects in the Bay Area including a living wage campaign, affordable housing work, and efforts to stop the criminalization of homeless people. CAP created a 12 point plan to end poverty and incorporated those points and other justice issues in federal legislation, H.R. 1050, "A Living Wage, Jobs for All Act." Former Congressman Ronald V. Dellums initially introduced the legislation and it is currently sponsored by Barbara Lee.

When Barbara Arms, key organizer, moved from San Francisco to Belleville, IL, CAP shifted its local work from the Bay Area to the Metro East, which includes several communities in Illinois east of St. Louis, across the Mississippi River. The CAP advisors agreed that there was a need for social justice as well as economic justice work and Barbara Arms and three other CAP activists, Aileen C. Hemandez, Anne G. Politeo, and Betty L. Traynor agreed to apply for non-profit, 501c3 status and serve as the legal board. Non-profit status for the Coalition for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ) was received in March, 2006.

Mission Statement of Coalition for Economic and Social Justice (CESJ), a 501c3 organization.