My heart, mind, and soul are brimming with excitement and awe at all the amazing youth activist work that is going on in the U.S. that I will hopefully find a way to break down and type out to share with all y’all, but for now one thing that is sticking out in my mind here at the ACLU conference is this:
The New York Civil Liberties Union (or NYCLU for short) has developed the Schools to Prisons Pipeline Campaign which addresses the extremely high rate of youth who are being sent to prison straight from school. Many of these young people aren’t even being given the chance to tell their side of the story and are being arrested for crimes that the average adult would easily get away with.
These are racialized, marginalized, and systemically oppressed youth in case you had any doubts about who we are talking about. One of the fantastic youth presenters described her school in Brooklyn which basically has its own custody setting on the second floor of the school.
There is a WEALTH of great information about the project on the website and the youth actually produced 3 films that are incredibly educational and powerfully moving.
Check it out and spread the word! We want education, not jail!
Borders should not stop us from reaching out and being informed.
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