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Publication Staff Communications Director Shadi Rahimi Communications Assistant Lauren Jones CJNY Program Director Technical Assistance Manager Regional Program Manager Regional Program Manager
Tshaka Barrows Malachi Garza Katina Castillo Tracy Benson
Art Director Ross Robinson Executive Assistant Ophelia Williams Administrative Assistant Andria Blackmon
Cover art Black and Brown Unity Mural by Desi W.O.M.E Daz, Arik, D.Y.K., Pancho, Aser, Oops, Abakus, Muse, Unity Lewis, Jane, DJ Chino, Arrow-Soul Council and courtesy of the Community Rejuvenation Project
Community Justice Network for Youth
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he Community Justice Network for Youth (CJNY) is a program of the W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI), a leading national organization in the field of juvenile justice detention reform and disparities reduction. The Burns Institute is named for the late W. Haywood Burns, a civil rights lawyer who was a beacon of light for those who believe the battle for human rights and justice can be won through activism, humility and dedication. The idea for the CJNY network was conceived in the late nineties, a time of massive shifts in policies and initiatives regarding youth in trouble with the law. CJNY was formed by several community-based organizations, who represented a crosssection of communities of color and specializations, working with youth in underserved communities. We primarily function as a support network for organizers and practitioners who engage youth involved in juvenile justice systems and/or in need of support and services. Today, CJNY is comprised of more than 140 community-based programs in 23 states. CJNY is made up of grassroots organizers, serviceproviders and advocates who are unified in their aim to reduce the disproportionate sentencing and warehousing of children of color within the U.S., and to promote effective, culturally appropriate community-based interventions. The core activities of CJNY are: technical assistance services, system accountability specialization, peer-to-peer exchanges, and regional/national conferences. Technical assistance is offered to CJNY members in areas including: organizational development, educational and skills curriculums, fundraising, community organizing, advocacy and service provision. Peer exchanges provide avenues for communication and training between member organizations. System accountability focuses on strategic planning and implementation of localized community organizing, which uses data to reduce the secure confinement of youth of color. Regional and national conferences are CJNY regional or network-wide reunions that feature trainings for and by CJNY member groups.
Some things have changed, but one thing will always remain:
Our Mission To Stop The Rail To Jail!
Four staff members provide leadership to the CJNY Network... Malachi Garza Technical Assistance Manager mgarza@burnsinstitute.org (415) 321-4100 x 110
Katina Castillo Regional Manager kcastillo@burnsinstitute.org (415) 321-4100 x116
Tshaka Barrows Program Director tbarrows@burnsinstitute.org (415) 321-4100 x106
Tracy Benson Regional Manager tbenson@burnsinstitute.org (415) 321-4100 x115
Why focus on disparities? We believe in fairness and best life outcomes for all youth. Historically, the juvenile justice system was established to provide youth in trouble with the law rehabilitation and nurturing. But in a short period of time, the face of juvenile justice became that of youth of color – and its focus shifted to punishment and confinement, along with the massive expansion of prison-like juvenile institutions. Today, in every state, youth of color are overrepresented at every stage of the juvenile justice system, especially in detention, even though they don’t commit more crimes than their White counterparts.
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For youths charged with violent offenses, the incarceration rate for African American youth is nine times the rate for White youth, and the incarceration rate for Latino youth is five times the rate for White youth.
On any given day, African American youth are five times more likely than White youth to be sent to juvenile hall rather being released or offered an alternative to detention. Latino youth are twice as likely than White youth to be sent to juvenile hall, and Native American youth are three times more likely.
Since 1985, the population of youth of color in public detention centers has grown to 2/3 of the detention population, even though they still only make up 1/3 of the total U.S. youth population.
Overall, 1 in 3 African American men and 1 in 6 Latino men – versus 1 in 17 White men – are expected to go to prison in their lifetimes.
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s the end of 2010 approaches, I want to take this time to remember the last decade of struggle in the battle to ‘Stop the Rail to Jail,’ and commemorate the people whose sacrifice and commitment are the foundation upon which our movement is built. In the spirit of the late John Bess, founder of The Valley in Harlem, N.Y., and a founding member of CJNY, we are taking this movement to Washington D.C. When we arrive we plan to let our elected officials know that we will stand up and demand the juvenile justice system be held accountable for the racial and ethnic bias that lead youth of color unfairly deeper into the system. It is time to evaluate where we stand in the fight to Stop the Rail to Jail, and determine where we are headed. As the system changes and morphs, we must continue to develop and evolve our strategies. The 2010 CJNY National conference serves as a space to reconnect with our movement family and collectively sharpen our strategies and raise our unified voices to demand fairness, equity and justice. The battle to Stop the Rail to Jail is being fought on many levels. On the ground level, as most of you know well, there are many other challenges connected to the main struggle of keeping our kids from being targeted and pushed deeper into the juvenile justice system. In order to fight our fight, we cannot ignore challenges including structural racism, economic discrimination, homophobia and the prioritization of money over people – also known as unbridled capitalism. By working tirelessly to make progress on these fronts, we gain the confidence and knowledge to keep fighting for the perfect world we all wish for. It will not happen unless me make it so. The stories in this issue are varied and represent the many faces of the Stop the Rail to Jail movement. In this issue, we have only a small microcosm of the work being done. Our Communications Department would like to hear more about the work you are doing. It may seem ordinary to you, but it is easy to forget how extraordinary your line of work is. We want to hear about your triumphs, struggles and any other news you find fit to print. Reach out to us and call us back when we contact you about your work! Happy holidays, it’s my hope that the stories contained within this issue will inspire you to continue to fight for justice! Peace and Love,
Tshaka Barrows
News New Staff Tracy Benson
Regional Manager tbenson@ burnsinstitute.org
Peace Out:
December 8th is a Day of peace in Chicago. Originally an indigenous form of restorative justice, peace circles will be held in communities all over the nation to share experiences, feelings, and needs in the face of violence and trauma. Bring one to your hood. healingchicago.wordpress.com
Must-Read Report
Katina Castillo
Regional Manager kcastillo@ burnsinstitute.org
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Katina moved to the East Bay in 2003 to attend UC Berkeley. After graduating, Katina worked as College/Career Advisor at Oakland’s Castlemont High School. She’s joined CJNY’s movement because she sees potential greatness in all young people that only education, community support services, and love can help them fulfill.
CJNY’s first publication is titled, “Stopping the Rail to Jail.” This publication shares the history of juvenile justice reform movement from a community perspective, and illustrates some of the community-based approaches we believe are necessary to hold systems accountable for racial and ethnic disparities. Our work as a network includes establishing a narrative that the juvenile justice system, through irrational and unproven policies and practices, is responsible unconscionably high levels of racial and ethnic disparities and recidivism levels. You can order a copy of this and any of our other publications by emailing mgarza@burnsinstitute.org
Please call or write Nancy Pelosi, to vote on the DREAM act. Help Congress do the RIGHT thing! 235 Cannon HOB Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-4965
Have an upcoming event, just receive a grant, or just want to be featured on this page? Email Ljones@burnsinstitute.org
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Tracy comes to CJNY representing the Midwest. She has been organizing a local Stop the Rail To Jail movement in Madison, WI for over a decade, working with Southeast Asian, African American, and Latino communities from the ground up. She has also been a member of CJNY’s Advisory Council for the past eight years.
How To... Tell Congress to Reauthorize the Juvenile Justice &
Delinquency Prevention Act
Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO) Status offenses only apply to minors and can be defined as actions that would not considered offenses at the age of an adult – such as skipping school, running away, breaking curfew and possession or use of alcohol. Under the JJDPA, status offenders may not be held in secure detention or confinement. There are, however, several exceptions to this rule, including allowing some status offenders to be detained for up to 24 hours. The DSO provision seeks to ensure that status offenders who have not committed a criminal offense are not held in secure juvenile facilities for extended periods of time or in secure adult facilities for any length of time. These children, instead, should receive community-based services, such as day treatment or residential home treatment, counseling, mentoring, family support and alternative education.
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Adult Jail and Lock-up Removal Under the JJDPA, youth may not be detained in adult jails and lock-ups except for limited times before or after a court hearing (6 hours), in rural areas (24 hours plus weekends and holidays), or in unsafe travel conditions. This provision does not apply to children who are tried or convicted in adult criminal court, and is designed to protect children from psychological abuse, physical assault and isolation. Children housed in adult jails and lock-ups have been found to be eight times more likely to commit suicide, two times more likely to be assaulted by staff, and 50 percent more likely to be attacked with a weapon than children housed in juvenile facilities.
“Sight and Sound” Separation When children are placed in an adult jail or lock-up, as in exceptions listed above, “sight and sound” contact with adults is prohibited under the JJDPA. This provision seeks to prevent children from threats, intimidation or other forms of psychological abuse and physical assault. Under “sight and sound,” children cannot be housed next to adult cells, share dining halls, recreation areas or any other common spaces with adults, or be placed in any circumstance that could expose them to threats or abuse from adult offenders.
Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Under the JJDPA, states are required to assess and address the disproportionate contact of youth of color at key contact points in the juvenile justice system – from arrest to detention to confinement. Studies indicate that youth of color receive tougher sentences and are more likely to be incarcerated than white youth for the same offenses. With youth of color comprising one-third of the youth population but two-thirds of youth in contact with the juvenile justice system, this provision requires states and local jurisdictions to address the reasons for such disproportionate minority contact.
S.678 strengthens the JJDPA. Write your Senators and ask them to pass the bill. The House hasn’t introduced a bill yet - write your Representative and ask them to introduce a similar bill. To get more information go to Act4jj.org. To download a pre-written letter go to www.burnsinstitute.org and click the RESOURCES tab.
How To...
Request Alternative Sentencing In our continuous fight to Stop the Rail to Jail we are including a sample letter for you to use as a model to write your own when requesting alternative sentencing for children. You may be used to requesting letters from probation officers, case managers and program managers – but you know your child best. By writing a letter for probation or case/program managers to approve before signing, you can not only expedite the process, but you will probably write a more effective letter than any system stakeholder could about your child. Use the one below as a model, but keep in mind that no one will lie for your child. Asking them to talk about great attendance when it is not true is not the best approach. Make a realistic list of positive things to highlight before you start writing the letter. On the other hand, if you’re going to ask these representatives to write a letter for you, ask them what they’re going to say before telling them who will receive it. If what they have to say is negative, tell them you will ask for a letter from someone else.
I am writing this letter on behalf of {insert your child’s name here}. {Your child} has been a client at {insert program name here} for the past (years, months, weeks}. This is intended to be a character reference for {your child} and to advocate for them to fulfill the remainder of their sentence in an alternative to incarceration/detention. {Your child} came to our agency voluntarily. Since he/she has been with us he/she has made all appointments on time, and when he/she could not attend called to notify me. He/she has also joined {insert any academic clubs, volunteer organizations, churches, etc} and is well liked by other participants. {Your child} has taken the initiative to work toward getting their life back together. They are trying to find a place to live. He/she is currently in money management classes, has successfully completed a life skills course, and signed his/herself up on the San Francisco Housing Authority waiting list. He/she is also taking training classes in office management so that he/she may find a stable job to pay for an apartment. We have discussed the possibility of {your child} going back to jail to fulfill the rest of their sentence and believe that provided all of their progress, house arrest {or whatever you are asking for} is a better option so that they can continue to take classes, find a job and secure housing. These are the first steps toward {your child} establishing a healthy lifestyle. We have no plans to close {your child’s} file, but do plan to assist him/her with finding a job after she graduates. Please feel free to call me regarding this letter or {your child}’s participation in the program. Sincerely,
L. Jones Case manager {phone number, extension or email}
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Dear Honorable Judge Smith:
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ouisiana is notorious for housing some of the most brutal youth prisons in the country. In recent years, it’s made great strides toward reform, as leaders introduce more therapeutic, rehabilitative models. Even still, youth who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender experience physical, sexual and psychological abuse, excessive use of lockdown and isolation, confidentiality breaches and privacy violations in Louisiana’s juvenile justice system, according to the report “Locked Up & Out.” The report, released by our member group the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL), focuses on LGBT youth, who make up 15 percent of youth in detention nationwide. Author and JJPL youth advocate Wes Ware visits facilities regularly to investigate the conditions that youth face, and find resources for them once released. “The stories I have heard from LGBT youth, about the extreme challenges they endure and their courage and determination, inspired this report,” Ware said. A recent national Bureau of Justice Statistics report showed 12 percent of youth on average reported they were sexually assaulted while incarcerated. At Tallulah Correctional Center for Youth — the state’s largest juvenile justice prison — 16 percent of youth reported they had been sexually abused. Tallulah is considered by some to be the worst juvenile facility in the country. In 2003, the state Legislature passed sweeping reform that led in part to the closure of two youth prisons, Tallulah and Jena Correctional Center for Youth, and discontinued the use of privately-run prisons for youth. Conditions in the facilities are significantly improved today, but incarcerated youth continue to report mistreatment and abuse. “Once inside prison, LGBT youth often bear the worst the system has to offer,” Ware said in his report. “I have been locked up for 3 years. I am gay. I have been my whole life. This is my second time in Jetson. The first time I was here, they sent me to Swanson. I stayed there for about 11 months before I got raped by some of the youths there. I did not report it on time so they did not do anything about it. But they did send me to a group home in Shreveport. There, I tried to kill myself because I could not take the boys hitting on me because I
would not do sexual favors for them. After that, they sent me to a crazy home called Brentwood,” wrote one youth in the report. More disturbing is the fact that youths’ complaints fall on deaf ears. In the report youth recall painful memories of being raped by staff and other youth, being told to tone down effeminate behavior, how to dress and act “straight,” being outed by staff, having confidential medical information treated as the days gossip, etc. The complaints detailed in the report are just a small sampling of what likely goes on considering the cases that go unreported. Further, 80 percent of youth in juvenile prisons in Louisiana are African American, showing another alarming disparity,” Ware said. Multiple factors lead these kids into the juvenile justice system. Other problems include intrapersonal conflicts due to outside pressures including family rejection, ostracism by peers and the suppression of identity, all of which cause stress that undoubtedly drive these kids to act out. These atypical behaviors ultimately land some youth in a locked-down facility. Once inside, they often experience even worse treatment, according to the report. “Sometimes they would say stuff like ‘it doesn’t matter what you think because you’re about to die anyway,’” recalls an HIV-positive youth whose illness was leaked to other youth by a staff member. Discrimination is nothing new to the LGBT community. Inside or outside of prison walls, discrimination is morally wrong. When practiced on teens that are still developing into their adult selves, it’s doubly wrong. Just as children of different cultures need culturally-appropriate learning methods, these youth have individualized needs that are not being met. Poorly trained staff and moral corruption are literally ruining the lives of young teens. Louisiana, a state once and probably still, plagued by racism, has a chance to change it’s reputation. Ending abuse of LGBT teens in its juvenile facilities would send a message to the rest of the nation. In order to truly call ourselves a country that celebrates diversity we have to give respect to all. The report “Locked Up & Out” sheds light on a special population of troubled youth that are too often overlooked. No longer should these children be hidden.
by Lauren Jones
ljones@burnsinstitute.org
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The kids work 1520 hours per week and each earns an hourly wage of $7.71. There are opportunities for bonuses in increments of $0.05 for good behaviors like being polite, providing good customer service, and being properly groomed for work. Employers check the incentives off of a list to be turned in with the youth’s timesheet, which the youth is responsible for turning in, if they want to be paid on time weekly. “This way they learn responsibility, initiative and the benefits or the consequences’ of their actions,” said Fauntleroy. Supported work program advocates never reveal a youth’s charges to the employer. They leave it up to the youth to tell their employer, if they build that relationship. This gives the youth a sense of ownership and responsibility for themselves. The program simultaneously solves two problems at once. It gives bored teens something to with their idle hands, and it helps alleviate the employment gap that many cities across the nation are feeling because of economic woes. Kim Jackson is the owner of Kelsey and Kim’s, a soul-food restaurant in Atlantic County that hires youth from Youth Advocate’s Supported Work Program. Jackson says it’s been great having the kids from the supported work program. “When we opened our second location, we were so new and things were tight financially, but with the kids we were fully staffed. Though we hadn’t worked out all the kinks of opening a restaurant, it was good because it was like the kids got to grow with us. They got to see the process of opening and running a restaurant; instead of just walking in and everything already be in place,” explains Jackson. Youth employees at Kelsey and Kim’s typically work there for five or six months. Some are even hired on permanently. Like 17-year-old Dante, who started as a host and is now a line cook. “I got in trouble when I made a dumb decision, but it was actually a good thing because if I hadn’t made that dumb decision I probably wouldn’t have this opportunity for employment, plus I learned my lesson,” he said. Dante is graduating from high school this year and plans to enroll in the culinary arts program at Atlantic County City College. Fauntleroy says the program’s biggest challenge is the everlooming threat of detention. Some kids receive sentences longer than a site can keep them employed. Many youth come back and ask to be extended and in most cases they can be. But the reality is that not everyone can be extended. Rural areas can also be a challenge for kids without means for reliable transportation. Some of them travel more than 20 miles to get to a work site. “We know these kids can be creative. We had kids putting their GPS-monitoring ankle bracelets around their pets, and these violations would just land them back in detention. Our goal is to pair them with a site that peaks their interests,” said Fauntleroy. By Lauren Jones
Restaurant owners Kelsey and Kim
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s the director of Youth Advocate Programs (YAP) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Lamont Fauntleroy found an avenue for first-time, nonviolent youth offenders to stay out of detention and trouble. His supported work program at Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that employs youth who have become system involved and helps them find jobs. The program exists as an alternative to juvenile detention. Field advocates from his program go to local Atlantic County businesses to secure positions for kids who are interested in jobs. They then ask the businesses to supply them with a work site. In exchange, the YAP’s supported work program pays the kids wages and insures the business. There is very little risk involved and youth who some perceive as wayward are given a second chance to prove that they are different.
“There’s been a lot of violence lately and were trying to tell them [businesses] ‘open your doors to these kids, give them something to do.’ You can be part of the problem or you can help me be part of the solution,” Fauntleroy says. Field advocates are hired through what YAP calls “zip code recruiting.” YAP hires people from the same neighborhoods as the kids to be mentors. This way, mentors are current on events in a youth’s neighborhood. They are also accessible and relevant to the youth. Its also an opportunity to show youth an example of someone successful from their neighborhood that is not a drug dealer, rapper or sports figure. So far, twelve businesses in Atlantic County employ children from the supported work program, including the Mayor’s Office and popular soul food joint, Kelsey and Kim’s. Some work sites have multiple positions available. “We recently had 56 referrals from the court. Of them, 48 went to work and not one has violated their terms or returned to court for any reasons,” Fauntleroy said. Though grant funders require the program to utilize 65 percent of the grant fund for wages, the program also includes a mandatory four-hour orientation where kids are taught basic life skills. Like, how to dress for an interview, how to construct a resume, and the like. Though it is a support work program, the importance of education is also stressed. “School first. If their grades or school attendance begin to suffer we don’t allow them to work,” Fauntleroy says.
ljones@burnsinstitute.org
ARC founder Daniel Elby
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lternative Rehabilitation Communities, or ARC, is a fitting name/acronym for the organization housed in Pennsylvania. It is just that, an alternative. The many programs and facilities that comprise the organization, work together to fight the juvenile justice system. ARC was founded in 1975 when Daniel Elby, CEO and co-founder of ARC, had just finished grad school. He saw a 60 Minutes story about a young man in adult-lock up who committed suicide by hanging himself. Sources said the young man endured too much abuse could not handle the pressure. The story changed policy nationwide and shortly after, groups on the ground went to work closing facilities that housed both youth and adults. “I was tending bar at my father’s tavern here in town, at a sort of post-graduate stand still, and I knew a guy who used to come in who was involved in closing one of the facilities here that housed both youth and adults together,” recalls Elby. After a few conversations, Elby went downtown and filed the necessary paperwork to start ARC. “When you don’t have a job, but you have all the necessary credentials you think, ‘Well I’ll give it a try,’” Elby said. Elby’s model takes on some the most difficult youth populations to work with, but minimizes net-widening because of the programs multi-faceted approach. ARC is unlike other programs that serve system-involved youth. To begin, their funding comes from a purchase agreement contract, not foundation money. This means that the program only gets money when they have children. If there are not any referrals, there is no money flowing in. “We’re very fortunate to have the trust and confidence of the probation department. There are 60 or so counties in Pennsylvania and we are in contact with 40 or so of them. They keep sending us referrals, and we’re very fortunate for that,” Elby said. And, unlike many centers, ARC is not only one location. There are many facilities that comprise ARC, each tailored to the specific needs of the populations they serve. “We have a number of facilities including maximum security facilities, specialized male and female facilities, a Latino facility, a juvenile mental facility, a juvenile sex-offender facility and a community-based non residential facility which serves as our evening reporting center,” Elby said.
Each of ARC’s facility’s are located in central Harrisburg and maintain small populations to effectively treat its individuals. Each program only houses up to 20 youth at a time, currently most have around 14 youth. But like many non-profits ARC is not without it’s challenges. In the beginning, the city put a hold on ARC because of a former law: zoning that prevented the program from housing multiple youths in one location without familial ties. But the city has since addressed that problem with a zoning ordinance that allows for group homes and facilities like those of ARC. Despite trials and tribulations, ARC emerges triumphant. Elby considers one of the centers greatest successes is its ability to grow as well as build and maintain relationships with its staff and students. “We don’t have a marketing team. Our kids are our marketing tools. If they speak well of us and are living a straight life I think that is the most powerful marketing tool there is,” he said. Other successes include the many young men and women who have graduated from its programs who now lead jail-free lives. “We had one young man who was involved in a homicide at a very young age. He was 13 or 14 when we got him. His cousin shot his father and then himself and the young man was supposed to also commit suicide, but he couldn’t do it. He works for us now and is one year away from his bachelor’s degree,” Elby said. It seems ARC is all about looking toward your future, regardless of what is in your past. In 2011, ARC aspires to expand its evening reporting centers, and open new programs including a culinary arts program for its students. Elby is also a nominee for a 2011 nonprofit leadership innovation excellence award from the Central Penn Business Journal.
Freedom Inc. started out as a group of young Southeast Asian girls in Madison, Wisconsin, with nothing to do. Some were high-school dropouts, a few were even homeless. One of the young women went to Thailand to study, came back and began looking at her community differently.
“Imagine a flower with many petals. the community is the center and our African-American group is one petal, our LGBTQ youth group is another, and so on and so forth. It can be complicated but it’s a very tightly knit way of doing the work,” Benson said.
This young woman, Freedom Inc. founder Kabzuag Vaj, began posing the question “What do you girls have planned for your future?” to her peers. This question, posed to a group of girls who felt disenfranchised from their neighborhood, got them thinking about the real problems plaguing the Bayview neighborhood; a housing project complex in Madison, WI. Their answers led to Freedom Inc.’s first campaign, a campaign to raise awareness of racial profiling.
As the first non-profit in Madison to be led by youth of color, Freedom Inc. is setting a standard for smaller groups now cropping up to follow. Their model is to hire teens from the communities they work in. Freedom Inc.’s employees are paid at least $10 dollars an hour, since many are the only source of income in their home. Interns with Freedom Inc. must be there for at least one year in order to be considered for a permanent position, and employees must directly reflect the communities they come from.
“We noticed a lot of police harassing kids asking for I.D., even if they were just hanging out. It was causing a lot of family problems because a lot of the elders would automatically assume when they saw a cop talking to young person it was because they did something bad. It created a climate of fear in our own neighborhood,” said Tracy Benson, a former member of Freedom Inc. and new CJNY staff member. What began with a campaign to stop racial profiling against Southeast Asians was maintained because the youth leaders realized very quickly that the problems they faced were related by law-enforcement, school or race. “Were not an issue-based group. Our ability to sustain ourselves depends on our ability to involve the community; as a community there are many issues not just one,” Benson said. Freedom Inc. is structured and operated as a collective. The group operates like a network of small groups that are gender, race and/or cause specific. Freedom Inc. is the tie that binds them all. Decisions are made as a group, and since most of their staff is made up of volunteers, no one is in charge of anyone else. But all are held accountable regarding the work.
“We recently won control of some space in Bayview that used to be a trash dump. We’ve re-purposed it into a traditional medicine garden and we also just received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,” Benson said. Triumph and a sense of ownership are on Freedom Inc.’s horizon for the upcoming year. It is rumored that the current director of the Bayview housing project will be leaving in 2012. “We want to be in a position to have someone from our neighborhood replace him,” Benson said. Over the next two years Freedom Inc. plans to engage more youth and families and take over other community centers in Madison. All are efforts to take back community control of public spaces that are funded off the backs of low/no- income youth and families of color. Freedom Inc. believes the community has a right to public space –community centers, land in public housing and city parks— free from police harassment and racial profiling. Freedom Inc. will hold community centers, Madison city and county accountable for their actions.
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Let Freedom Ring
Member Spotlight
National Parent Caucus Call Leaves No One On Hold
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by Lauren Jones
W
hen you get on the phone great things can happen. Just ask Grace Bauer of the Campaign for Youth Justice. For the past year she’s been facilitating the National Parent Caucus call for parents whose children are system-involved. The purpose of the monthly call is for people to make connections with other parents who are going through similar struggles. The call provides a safe space for parents to connect and build a base for movement building. The solace they find in each other’s voices provides them peace and often gives parents the power needed to take on their local system. Currently, 180 people participate on the call, which occurs on the first Thursday of every month. Topics include reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Aact (JJDPA), discussing work against the practice of trying children as adults, how to find system stakeholders, and momentum building on the state and national level. The calls are so popular that many topics are often left untouched at the end, which usually forms the agenda for the next call. “We expected there to be a lot of sharing about people’s personal feelings and problems, and that they would be needing emotional support, but most people just want to get to work,” Bauer said. The call is also being utilized by parents to share what they are doing in their home counties. For example, Tracy McClard discussed her 5k Run for Youth Justice on one call. McClard began organizing the run to bring attention to the atrocity of youth being sentenced as adults, when her 17-year-old son committed suicide in an adult prison in Missouri. This year four states participated, but she hopes to triple that number soon. Tracy isn’t the only one taking action. According to Grace, there are many parents who want to become activists, start organizations and get themselves out there. “It’s good to hear progression, and we need to figure out how to include people who are new on the call. There are some people
who are so way ahead of the curve and I don’t want new callers to feel discouraged, because they aren’t there yet,” said Bauer. The calls quick growth has presents some challenges in organizing. The sheer number of people living in different time zones, and with different lifestyles makes it difficult to get everyone on the same page. “You try getting all those people on one phone call,” laughed Bauer when asked about the challenges of putting this together. But somehow she does. Thursday was determined the best day to hold the call since that was when most people would call in. “At first no one talked, they just listened a lot, but now that
“If other people know parents who are or aren’t doing things please connect with these families and get them with the movement. We need people in every county in every state.” parents are doing things everyone wants to talk about that and it’s all over the map,” Bauer said. Bauer says she never expected for the call to get so popular and well-attended so quickly. Now another challenge she faces is expanding the capacity to assist parents technically with how to start their own organizations. But she does not wish for the growth to stop. Bauer has been hard at work spreading the word about the call as well as creating tools to aid parents in their quest. She has developed a toolkit, available on www.cfyj.org to give parents material to think about,
Photo courtesy of Steve Liss
Hold the Phone
instructions on how to network, build a campaign and engage major stakeholders. “We know a lot of people feel powerless. The call is empowering for parents, it’s like ‘Okay here is something I can do,’” Bauer said. And it’s not just action building, people are also building relationships which Bauer says is a very important part of the work. “That’s what brought me in, the relationships I developed once I was in are what kept me coming back,” Bauer said. Parents who meet on the call are touching base more than just once a month and they are planning individually as well. Bauer says that is a good thing. January’s call topics will be the Family Justice Act and its progress, the direction of the newly elected House of Representatives, and what was gained from attending the CJNY National Conference Dec. 4-6, 2010. “Today in your jurisdiction, there may be no one speaking up or if there is it may be the wrong person. But as long as you stay home no one will know how awful this is for your kids and the families involved,” Bauer said.
Organizations like yours can put an end to this.
Take Action! • Ask the FCC to adopt the Wright Petition (docket
no. 96-128), which calls for a price cap of .25 cents per minute, the elimination of connection fees and offer debit calling to inmates. Debit calls are cheaper than collect calls. • Write your Senators and Representatives and urge them to pass a congressional law. • Stay Connected! Get on the Mag-net Prison Phone Justice call the last Wednesday of every month. Email Betty Yu at betty@centerformediajustice.org for info.
The National Parent Caucus Call is the first Thursday of every month. The number is 1.866.670.5105 and enter the code 448194#. Or join the google group, http://groups. google.com/group/national-parent-caucus.
Campaign for Youth Justice recent juvenile justice rally in Baltimore
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Grace Bauer
A typical insterstate collect call from a prison has a $3.95 connection fee. In addition to the fee, rates can be as high as $0.89 cents per minute. At these rates, just one hour of phone calls per week can result in phone bills of nearly $300 dollars a month, making family phone calls a luxury that most cannot afford. The families of America’s 2.3 million imprisoned people are left to foot the bill; despite the fact that many of them are low-income. All the while, States benefit in the form of kickbacks from the phone companies who operate the phone lines.
Member Spotlight
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Prejudice is alive and well at Medgar Evers College. And CJNY member Kate-Kyung Ji Rhee is not having it. Medgar Evers
“S
peak softly and carry a big stick,” is a WestAfrican proverb made famous in the U.S. by president Teddy Roosevelt, and these days the credo of Kate-Kyung Ji Rhee. The CJNY member and director of the Institute for Juvenile Justice Reform & Alternatives (IJJRA) is a representative in a dispute with the Medgar Evers Campus of New York’s public university system. With the college fighting so dirty, it is only a matter of time before this fight turns into a full-on brawl. Ms. Rhee argues on behalf of IJJRA’s parent center, the Center for NuLeadership on Urban Solutions; a program that assists formerly incarcerated people now interested in turning their lives around by pursuing a college degree. The college’s new president, William L. Pollard, is being criticized for his treatment of the Center for NuLeadership, among other things. The college’s provost, Howard Johnson, refuses to forward necessary paperwork to the City University of New York central for NuLeadership to be officially recognized as a legitimate part of Medgar Evers College. This is despite the fact that paperwork is already approved by Medgar Evers College Council and NuLeardership has been operating for six years at the Medgar Evers campus. The Council approved the paperwork under the previous administration but never forwarded it to central. It seems Provost
Johnson is using the paperwork’s limbo status as an excuse to impose his personal politics on to Medgar Evers College. “He doesn’t want our population on campus, he imagines an influx of criminals even though we’ve been here for six years,” Rhee said. This is just one incidence in a string of questionable actions that have received much criticism during the administration’s one-year term, including swapping campus ATM’s from Black-run Carver Federal Bank, to Citibank—a bank owned by a multinational corporation. This is a highly questionable move considering the campus is named after a distinguished African-American civil rights leader and hero. “This college is in the hood (Brooklyn) and was founded to meet the educational and social needs of the community. Somewhere he’s missed that,” Rhee said. The Center for NuLeadership helps former inmates apply for financial aid, complete remedial coursework and provides other academic counseling. It is the only program of its kind at Medgar Evers that is community-based, founded and operated by formerly incarcerated professionals.
“He is basically trying to bar us from campus by using this technicality, but he’s picked a fight with the wrong people. We have a long history of fighting because of our justice and policy work,” Rhee said. This matter is unresolved. But in the coming months we shall see which opponent is left standing when the dust finally settles.
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“He’s focused entirely on numbers. He automatically assumes that we are the criminal element and thinks were disposable, but all of this is publicizing Medgar Evers College in a very bad way,” Rhee said.
Also in the 50-page NuLeadership document are over two-pages of questions posed by provost Howard Johnson to NuLeadership. These questions are being posed by Provost Johnson in addition to the normal CUNY application. The last of which reads, “Space at the College is at a premium. Given the large scope of services the Center provides, the college will be unable to provide space.” Sounds like a fancy way of saying no, regardless of any answers given. Pending his approval of the answers to his questions, the provost will decide whether or not to forward NuLeadership’s application. For the record, NuLeadership answered the questions on October 1. At press time the college’s administration has yet to acknowledge the answers.
- Lauren Jones Ljones@burnsinstitute.org
The Center for NuLeadership founders Dr. Divine Pryor and Eddie Ellis
According to a 50-page document, “Clarification Documents & Responses” released by NuLeadership, the college also refuses to release already approved funding for some of NuLeadership’s work, including a $2.4 million dollar grant proposal written by NuLeadership to the State of New York’s Division of Criminal Justice Services, at their request. If approved, the proposal would have allowed first-time non-violent drug offenders to continue attending college or other educational programs under court supervision instead of being locked in prison. This proposal is dead now because of Provost Johnson, though some students have expressed interest in reviving it. The issue is not really a grant proposal or a college’s concern over first-time drug offenders turned students. The real issue, it seems is the administration’s desire to eliminate NuLeadership’s presence on campus. Some interpret the administration’s actions as an attempt to gentrify the campus.
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James Bell, Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute (BI), often says that parents with means “pay for tolerance” at private and/or high achieving schools. Parents who send their children to pubic schools instead receive social control in return for their tax dollars, which in today’s society means their children may be arrested at school instead of being sent to the principal’s office for a fight. The following images were taken by students at Critical Exposure a Washington D.C. based organization reflect the worth of those words. Critical Exposure teaches youth to use the power of photography and their own voices to become effective advocates for school reform and social change. The organization was founded in 2004 by a former educator and an education policy analyst in response to the drastic disparities that exist among public schools. We selected the following images for their power and how demonstrative they are of the challenges youth face in public school, and other systems in their communities that continue to fail them.
Broken Window
Ian (10th grade), Teens Leaders for Change “This window has been broken for months. Insulation problems lead to higher energy costs.”
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A Falling Ceiling
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Nia and Teneshia, 8th and 12th grade, Community Law in Action’s LEAD program “I took this picture to show the bad condition our classes are in. I wanted this picture to say [the school] needs help.” -Nia
Library Shelves
Nick, 11th grade, Teens Leaders for Change “This is one of many bookshelves (in the library) without any books... (it) makes it hard to study.”
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Student Protest
Unique, 12th grade, Baltimore Youth Congress “From K-12th grade, we’re a wasted cause. We ‘learn,’ we do poorly on tests, we get expelled from school for fighting. Truth is, despite stereotypes displayed in the media, we care. We recognize that the failures and anger of city students is a product of our poor funding. Because of this, some of us channel our anger into our protests, and rather than fighting other students, we fight the real criminal: those that have the money, see the problem, but make every excuse to not solve the problem. We’ll keep trying...our Baltimore-bred spirits are not so easily broken.”
Radiator and Student
Monique, 7th grade, Kids on the Hill “I took a picture of a broken heater and part of a student. It was in my art classroom. It’s still broken.” Shanae, another student says, “In the winter time it’s cold in the school, we have no heat. When you’re cold you shiver and can’t really focus, then the teacher gets mad because you keep complaining and that causes them to stop teaching.”
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Drowning in my Own Pain
Byron, 12th grade, Spingarn STAY Senior High School After my brother got killed I started drinking really heavy. These bottles represent the amount of liquor I drank that week to help keep my mind off of it. The bottles represent my pain and what I use to get rid of pain, which is usually liquor. I wrote [on the bottles] that I miss my brother, I wrote his birthday and his death date, I wrote a couple of quotes-just things to help me better remember him without him being here.
Untitled
Co-Photographed by Elan G., Sackiella A. & Caetia S. “I would like to see edible food; also healthy and good food that everyone wants to eat. I would like to see nothing on the cons list [of school lunch].” - Caetia S.
Water Foundation
D.J. and Kevin, Community Law in Action’s LEAD program
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Vending Machine
Charlie, Austin Voices for Education and Youth My stomach has been hijacked by corporate America… at school . Nutrition contained – zero.
Gin Bottle
Anthony, Kid Power In this picture is a bottle of gin. The glass is broken [and] on school property. I took this picture because it shows people are drinking on school grounds and they don’t care.
Untitled
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Co-Photographed by Elan G., Sackiella A., & Caetia S. “We feel as though the uniform policy is not necessary in this school. As students we think that wearing uniforms is wack and we can’t express ourselves while wearing them. Everyone talks about equality, but it’s not fair how teachers walk in with their shirt and ties that they think make them look good and we can’t wear our good looking clothes. We have to wear clothes teachers all want us to. And DCPS doesn’t have a uniform policy so why should we obey the school’s uniform policy?” - Torei Taylor
TEACHER
Sahara (8th grade), Baltimore Youth Congress “My homeroom/Language Arts teacher, as you can tell, is an upbeat teacher who makes learning fun. She is always trying to get the best from her students and keeps us laughing. Her name is Ms. Saunders and in her class your mind is not allowed to wander from the lessons that she teaches. I believe it is good to have a teacher that keeps your attention and is fun because you can actually learn something.”
Untitled
Photograph by Joselin & Nury “This picture shows that we should have lockers because as you see, her books are destroyed and if they were in a locker, they would be in much better condition.” -Vanessa Reyes
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Theresa, 12th grade, Spingarn STAY High School In these photos I see a strong black woman who’s seen some things, done some things and has been places where I wouldn’t advise no one to go. She has definitely done a 360 degree turn with herself. Today she can look in the mirror and tell herself that she loves her and truly mean it!
Mirrors
If Eyes Had Voices
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Byron, 12th grade, Sprigarn STAY High School When I look at this picture I see a window, I was trying to capture the emotion in my eyes and in my face to tell a story that I’m hurt and I’ve been hurt but there’s always a brighter outlook on life.
Untitled
Unknown Critical Exposure worked with a group of students from Spingarn STAY in 2008-09. Spingarn STAY is a school that provides alternative academic programs for students who have left school and have decided to return to complete their high school degree. During the class, the students documented various aspects of the dropout crisis in D.C.
Byron, 12th grade, Spingarn STAY Senior High School It says “Graduation Picture 2006,” and I feel like the piano background, along with the photo, really represent what my brother stood for in a way that words I can’t; the music side of him that is also in me. I took this photo in the auditorium of the school he graduated from, the same one I’m in. I enrolled in 2006. Later on that year, he got killed. I dropped out, I lost focus, I couldn’t concentrate. I’m getting back in here because I know he wanted me to finish. I promised him I would and walk across that same stage. And I’m going to make sure that I fulfill my promise--my word is my bond.
A Vision so Clear With A Sound So Faint
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Members
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“N” the Classroom CA Ali International Inc. CA All of Us or None of Us CA Asian/Pacific Islander Youth Promoting Advocacy & Leadership CA Barrios Unidos CA Bayview Hunters Point Foundation/Youth Services CA Brothers Against Guns CA Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare CA Catholic Charities of the East Bay CA Center for Community Learning and Development CA Center for Young Women’s Development CA Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice CA CH2A and Associates OR Children’s Defense Fund CA Colorado Progressive Coalition CO Community Restoration Services CA Community Wellness Partnership CA Community Works West CA Deported Diaspora CA Each One Reach One CA East Bay Asian Youth Center CA El Centro del Pueblo CA Ella Baker Center for Human Rights/Books Not Bars CA Homies Organizing the Mission to Empower Youth CA Homies Unidos CA Korean Youth Community Center (KYCC) CA La Causa/Public Allies CA La Vida Sana CA Leadership Excellence CA Legal Services for Prisoners with Children/All of Us or None CA Milestone Adolescent Services WA Office of Restorative Justice/Archdiocese of Los Angeles CA One Fam CA Oregon Social Learning Center OR Pacific News Network/Beat Within CA Partnership for Safety and Justice OR Pat Brown Institute CA Pico Youth and Family Center CA RYSE Center CA San Francisco Youth Commission CA School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL) CA Seattle Young People’s Project WA Self Enhancement Incorporated OR Skrappy’s/Tuscon Youth Center AZ South Bay Community Services CA St. Mary’s Home for Boys OR Standing Against Global Exploitation CA United Playaz CA The Beat Within CA The Mentoring Center CA Upright Treatment Center CA Wild for Human Rights CA Youth Alive CA Youth Community Restoration Project CA Youth Justice Coalition CA Youth Leadership Institute CA Youth Making a Change/Coleman Advocates for Youth CA
Southern Region
CJNY MEMBERS
Western Region
Action for Children North Carolina NC Associated Marine Institutes, Inc. (also in (SC, LA. GA, PA, TX, VA, IL) SC Be Present Inc GA Destiny Academy GA Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children LA Gulf Coast Teaching and Family Services, Inc LA Highlander Research and Education Center TN Juvenile and Education Training/American Resource Technicians LA Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana LA La Plazita Institute NM MECCA-Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts TX Methodist Home for Children LA National Latino Children’s Institute TX New Orleans Parents Organizing Network LA Njeri Camara Ministries LA Oasis Center TN PB & J Family Services NM PODER-People Organized in Defense of Earth and her Resources TX Power U Center for Social Change FL Project South: Institute for the Elimination of Poverty and Genocide GA SHAPE Self Help for African People through Education Community Center TX Southern Echo MS Southwest Key (also in (TX, CA, GA, NY, WI, LA) TX Spirit House NC Tejano Center for Community Concerns TX Texas Families of Incarcerated Youth TX The Hive NC The Throwaway Kids Network/Hope4 The Hood FL Tunica Teens in Action-Concerned Citizens FABTC, Inc MS We Count! FL
Midwest Region
CJNY’s strength is the powerful work of our members. Any omissions are unintentional. If your organization is not listed please contact us so we can be on our game! Contact Malachi Garza at mgarza@burnsinstitute.org or (415) 321-4100 x110.
Eastern Region Alternative Rehabilitation Communities PA Boston-area Youth Organizing Project MA Bronx PRYDE/Bronx Defenders NY Campaign for Youth Justice DC Center for Community Alternatives NY Children’s Defense Fund NY Correctional Association NY DRUM - Desis Rising Up and Moving NY East Baltimore Youth and Family Services MD Ella J. Baker House MA Esperanza/Hope NY Exodus Transitional Community NY Facilitating Leadership in Youth DC Families & Allies of Virginia’s Youth VA Fearless Leading By Youth DC Forest Hills Community House NY Friends of the Island Academy NY Girls Education and Mentoring Services NY Girls Inc of NYC NY Justice for DC Youth DC Justice for Families NY Maryland Juvenile Justice Coalition MD National Juenile Justice Network DC No Doubt, Inc NY Peace-a-holics DC Philly Student Union PA Providence Youth Student Movement RI Public Housing Youth Coalition NY RAHFA, INC NJ Reflect and Strengthen MA Roca Inc MA The City School MA Institute for Juvenile Reform & Advocacy NY Urban Leadership Institute MD Urban Youth Alliance/Bronx Connect NY Vera Institute for Justice/Youth Justice Program NY Voices of Youth NY Voices Unbroken NY Youth Rights Media CT
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Alternatives Youth and Family Services IL Am I My Brother’s Keeper/ Revival Tabernacle Ministries IL Arab American Action Network IL BUILD (Broad Urban Involvement & Leadership Development) IL Campaign Against Violence WI Chicago Area Project IL Chicago Council on Urban Affairs IL Children’s Defense Fund DC Children’s Home Association of Illinois IL Community Conferencing Center IL Community Justice for Youth Institute IL Community Panels for Youth IL Community Renewal Society IL Community TV Network IL CONTROL-Elementz-Hip Hop Youth Arts Center OH Detroit Summer MI Families & Friends Organizing for Reform of JJ MO First Defense Legal Aid IL Freedom Inc. WI Girl Talk IL Kaleidoscope IL Kuumba Lynx IL Multicultural Youth Project IL National Parents Caucus IL OMNI Youth Services IL One Hood PA Parents Who Care Coalition SD Revival Tabernacle Ministries, Mission Control IL Sankofa Safe Child Initiative of Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health IL Southwest Youth Collaborative IL Teen Build Up/Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center WI The House of Refuge- Youth Ministry WI Urban Underground WI Westside Association for Community Action IL YO! The Movement MN Youth As Resources/Chicago Area Project IL Youth Struggling for Survival IL
In remembering John, I remember he told me to make a difference. Don’t be distracted by the color of the enemy, the taste of defeat or the temptation of money. Withstand the urge to achieve speedy discoveries. Don’t make haste – enjoyment lies in a deliberate pace. Be motion that moves, don’t merely make motion. The movement is lined with the legs of old truths. In remembering John I remember to listen to the whispers of elders who speak those truths. With their legacies misunderstood and their purpose yet to be achieved, it is wise to make their difference. We are not separate, but one in the same, set on forward acceleration by the seeds of their motion. A journey built strong enough to defeat the jaws of money. A mentality stretched beyond the boundaries of time, allowing patience to seize the pace. In remembering John I remember that what’s important gets lost in corrupt storm clouds that loom over life’s discoveries. Stay focused on the paths leading to discoveries. John, you revealed to me the buried treasure of fulfillment grows at the base of shared truths. As long as you’re serving the less fortunate with the understanding that what is good is true and what is true is God, find your own pace. You who care and wander daily embracing a selfless lifestyle of lessening despair, and exuding gratitude for the challenges along your path. You make the difference. It is heroic to choose to follow the heart, blindly down the path to bandage a blistering humanity that turns away from compromise. This is my memory of John’s motion. In remembering John, I remember the beginning of our journey together when I first experienced his motion. This encounter distinguished motion from movement, of which there are subtle differences. John’s expectation of excellence elevated the motion of thoughts to movement. I know a movement’s history dies without the transference of lived truths. John made a difference because I live forever changed by the establishment of his foundation. I am thankful to John for sharing his discoveries. His return from human service came from restored magnificence brought about by a motion steadily evolving its pace. There’s one word that comes to mind in remembering the legacy of the late John Bess, FAITH. John, I remember a visionary who believed that to reach lasting change you leaped through unyielding faith. John, your legs have stretched me high enough to travel the lonely skies of human love and kindness. Now my arms will lift the next generation further. And they too will remember you John. In Strength and Love,
Ophelia Williams
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