Ever watch something and knew almost immediately that what you were watching was important, amazing, and groundbreaking? As soon as it was done you went and told everybody- making pleas with them to watch the movie for their own benefit.
On Friday of last week, I sat at my desk… Read more
This post is based on a press release from the office of Assemblymember Tom Ammiano.
Assemblymember Tom Ammiano’s bill (D-San Francisco) to restore media access to prisoners, AB 1270, passed the California Assembly today. The bill would remove restrictions on pre-arranged in-person interviews with specific prison inmates.… Read more
The facilities at the Ventura Youth Correctional Facility are unacceptable. I know because I’ve experienced them first hand.
I started this petition with help from Books Not Bars because its important for those outside of prison to stand in solidarity with those of us who are locked away and… Read more
Governor Brown has done it again. He has proposed in the state budget to close the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) once and for all. The DJJ drains much-needed funds from our schools and vital community programs that would help California thrive. The youth prison system promotes… Read more
The following has been reposted from The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (JJIE) is the only publication covering juvenile justice and related issues in the Southeast and around the nation on a consistent, daily basis.
In his first move of 2012, California’s Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal for… Read more
A #HijabiFlashMob – at least that’s what we were calling it even though there was no actual dancing involved. In its literal interpretation, it’s a sudden mob of women in hijabs.
A “hijab” is the head covering worn by some Muslim women as a sign of faith, humility,… Read more
On November 18, 2011, a campus police officer at UC Davis used pepper spray on a row of seated students peacefully protesting. A cell phone video of the incident went viral, made national headlines, and even inspired an internet meme. The most disturbing feature of the video, and a… Read more
I met Erin Siegel a few years back when she was first laying the foundation for her debut book Finding Fernanda. Erin is an award-winning investigative journalist and Oakland resident (cue my pride surge). She explained the heartbreaking subject of international adoption corruption and how she would examine it in… Read more
The following Poem was written by Ella Baker Center Books Not Bars organizer and parent Lourdes Duarte. This heartfelt piece was written by Lourdes in dedication to her son who spent several years in California’s abusive Youth Prison System.
If I had the power of the entire universe, I would cut the jail cell… Read more
When police officers pepper sprayed non-violent student protestors on the campus of University of California, Davis, the whole country reacted. Many of us were outraged, and some were in support of the action. However, few of us can truly understand the physical effects of police-grade pepper spray. On the Scoville… Read more
