Youth Justice Coalition (YJC) is a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization focused on juvenile justice, prison and police abolition,[1] and criminal legal reforms. YJC is a non-profit organization devoted to challenging race, gender and class inequality in California’s juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Advocacy positions
editGang injunctions
editYJC has been a part of movement to challenge the impact of gang injunctions on young people in minority communities.[2] YJC was successful in blocking an injunction in the Imperial Courts Housing Projects in the early 2000s.[2]
New jail construction
editIn 2015, YJC was part of a coalition that opposed the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 2 billion dollar jail expansion project.[3] Kim McGill from YJC argued for mental health programs in the community instead of jail for the mentally ill.[3]
Police shootings
editIn 2014, YJC published a report on police-involved homicides.[4] YJC petitioned Kamala Harris to appoint special prosecutors for police-involved homicides.[4] In 2015, YJC organized a "Die In" protest at the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors building. About 400 protestors carried cardboard coffins to represent the killings by police officers.[5]
School searches
editYJC has protested Los Angeles Unified School District search policies, including LAUSD’s Random Metal Detector Search Policy, arguing that these policies erode trust between students and school staff.[6] YJC is a part of the "Students Not Suspects" campaign, aligning with the American Civil Liberties Union, Black Lives Matter, Public Counsel and others.[7]
References
edit- ^ "WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE, and we can't stop because the goal is abolition!!" https://www.instagram.com/p/CCWwtEXAnPj/?igshid=xdi0i9xxq5kq&hl=en https://www.instagram.com/youthjusticela
- ^ a b "Activists and law enforcement square off over gang injunctions". Daily Breeze. 2013-09-14. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ a b Radio, Southern California Public (2017-09-26). "Activists mount new effort to block downtown LA mental health jail". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ a b "Is Obedience the Only Way to Avoid Police Brutality?". Vice. 2014-09-15. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ "Los Angeles marchers carry 617 mock coffins to protest police brutality". Daily News. 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ Radio, Southern California Public (2018-02-02). "Castro incident sheds fresh light on LAUSD's security policy". Southern California Public Radio. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
- ^ Ferlito, Dahlia (2018-01-11). "LAUSD's Failed Metal Detector Policy". KNOCK. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
External links
edit- Official website
- An Immigrant’s Story: I Deserve a Second Chance, Too, by Phal Sok, a YJC organizer