Monday, March 18, 2024
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Tags Juvenile justice system

Tag: juvenile justice system

Black Lives Matter and the Freddie Gray effect

Speaking at the funeral for Freddie Gray last April the family’s attorney said, “Many of us are here not because we knew Freddie Gray personally, but because we know hundreds of Freddie Grays.” The Freddie Gray effect and the cry that Black Lives Matter is about more than improved police-community relations. It is the fight and the need in countless Black neighborhoods for income equality, access to quality education, environmental justice and criminal justice reform.

2,000+ Bayview residents celebrate learning at BMAGIC’s backpack giveaway

More than 2,000 people eager to get a jump on the school year flocked to BMAGIC’s (Bayview Mobilization for Adolescent Growth in our Communities) Bayview Hunters Point Back to School Celebration at Youngblood Coleman Park Aug. 15, where kindergartners through high school seniors received new backpacks, uniforms and school supplies. The event is among the largest and most comprehensive of its kind in the Bay Area.

Support SB 124 to end solitary confinement for youth

California should display national leadership in the area of juvenile justice, not be among the states with the most backward, inhumane and primitive policies. We respectfully urge you to take whatever leadership steps are possible to protect the fundamental rights of this highly vulnerable population of juveniles and offer your strong support for SB 124.

Protest racist sentencing of 14-year-old Black girl with clean record labeled...

Judge Thomas Maddock, Juvenile Delinquency Court, Superior Court of California, Contra Costa County, labeled 14-year-old Lauryn G. “a danger to society” as he convicted her and took her immediately into custody without even the opportunity to hug her mother goodbye. Join the protest Tuesday, May 19, 8 a.m., Wakefield Taylor Courthouse steps, 725 Court St., Martinez.

What does it do to a child when a judge calls...

The girl perceived as “a danger to society” has in fact been working hard, successfully and with great promise. Rather than her being a danger to society, the juvenile justice system is a danger to her. Our children and young people are clearly in pain. They do not need to be punished in institutionalized settings that kill their spirits. Come to a meeting to organize an action to advocate for our youth in the racist juvenile justice system this Saturday, May 8, 2 p.m., at 4 Marina Bay Parkway, Richmond.

BMAGIC to distribute backpacks, uniforms to Bayview kids

In an effort to ensure every student starts school with the tools to succeed, the San Francisco Public Defender’s BMAGIC program will provide backpacks stuffed with school supplies to more than 3,000 youth in the Bayview on Saturday, Aug. 16. The BVHP Annual Back to School Celebration will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the recently renovated Youngblood Coleman Park, 1398 Hudson Ave.

Standing our ground: reproductive justice for Marissa Alexander

Marissa Alexander did not get a chance to see her youngest daughter take her first step, to hear her say her first word or blow out the candles on her first birthday cake. These and many more memories that mothers are excited to photograph or catch on film weren’t possible for Alexander because she was living behind bars – all because she fired a warning shot in the air, harming no one, to ward off Rico Gray.

Sacramento hearing exposes CDCR’s hidden agenda

Beginning with a rally held on the capitol steps, it was an emotional day for many, especially for family members of those suffering in the SHUs and prison survivors. The voices of those in the SHU were powerfully present, both in stories told by family members as well as statements they had sent for the occasion. The hearing provided an opportunity for legislators to hear representatives of CDCR present their new policies and weigh the truth of their claims. At the end there was a scant 20 minutes for public input.

New Orleans young Rethinkers take on ‘Candy Bars, Prison Bars’

Two of the nation’s most pressing issues involving young people — childhood obesity and violence — are indeed connected. How so? Just ask the Rethinkers. The correlation between unhealthy food choices and crime and violence was at the focal point of this year’s Rethink press conference.

Hope for prisoners sentenced as juveniles to life without parole

In the state of California, 227 people who were juveniles when they were convicted are serving life term prison sentences without the chance to ever re-enter society. Senate Bill 9, the Fair Sentencing for Youth Act, would allow sentence reduction to 25 years to life.

Battling the fear of ‘our’ kids

From it's inception, the juvenile justice system has treated youth of color unfairly: When the first detention facility established a "colored section" in 1834, Black children were excluded from rehabilitation because it would be a "waste" of resources.

Assemblymember Swanson calls cuts to child care ill-advised and wasteful

As the Legislature approaches an imminent vote on a budget that proposes to cut child care and developmental services by $716 million, Assemblymember Sandre Swanson, chair of the Labor and Employment Committee, discusses his strong objections.