Youth March 50-Miles Across L.A. County for An End to the School-to-Jail Track December 14 News Event To Be Held In Front of Los Angeles Unified School District
What: Young people, some dressed in Jail uniforms, are organizing a week of activities including a 4-day, 50 mile march from Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar to the California Youth Authority/Department of Juvenile Justice in Norwalk to call for an end to the push-out of students from schools into the streets and an eventual end for far too many in either incarceration or death. The march will begin on Monday, December 13th at noon and end at 8pm on Thursday, December 16th. Each day, youth will stop at key locations including juvenile halls, courts, the County Department of Probation, and schools, and meeting with city, county and state legislators along the way. As part of the YJC’s effort to gather experiences and opinions we will survey about 500 Los Angeles residents along the march route.
Who: The YOUTH JUSTICE COALITION is a growing movement led by the young people formerly or currently incarcerated on Probation or Parole. For most youth, their push out of school was a push toward underemployment and incarceration. To most people, we are invisible and forgotten, locked away in dusty corners of LA County, behind barbed wire and concrete -- in juvenile halls, county jails, camps and youth authorities. We represent thousands of youth. Some of us are as young as 7; almost all of us are poor; almost all of us are people of color. No one wants gang violence to stop more than we do. We have dedicated our lives to that cause. We know that violence won’t be ended by “declaring a war on youth”, but through community schools that are open to young people and their families as resource centers. We need community and school-based intervention, and job opportunities. Just 1% of the County’s law enforcement budget would provide 100 million dollars a year for positive youth development.
When: March Begins: Monday, December 13, 2010 at noon at Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar (16350 Filbert St, Sylmar 91342). Tuesday December 14th, at 2pm: Rally at Los Angeles Unified School District Headquarters. Thursday, December 16th at 8pm: Candlelight vigil at Norwalk CYA/DJJ Southern Reception Center
Where: Barry J. Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar is located on 16350 Filbert St, Sylmar 91342. The LAUSD is located on 333 South Beaudry Ave., Los Angeles, California 90017 (Just south of 2nd Street in Downtown Los Angeles). A full schedule of activities throughout the march is available.
Why: Four decades ago, California led the nation and the world in operating a quality K-12 and university education system. However, with the rush to incarcerate youth – particularly youth of color, for less and less serious offenses, the state and county transferred larger and larger funds toward police – including school police – and lock-ups. California now leads the nation and the world in prison spending, and is #50 in education spending, despite our ranking as the richest nation in the world and the 5th riches economy in the world. Most schools in poor and working class communities look and operate more like prisons, and Los Angeles now leads the nation in school push-outs, low test scores and school overcrowding. The YJC is urging an end to the School-to-Jail Track, and a re-investment in positive youth opportunities and school safety and success plans that prepare youth for college and living-wage careers rather than incarceration and death.
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