“This age group is under siege.” – Mentor from Fair Chance
As an educator I was particularly moved by the organizations we visited who are working to empower the local youth. There are many ways to tackle the roots of violence and reaching out to youth – who are often the most vulnerable – is a proven and powerful way to disrupt the cycle. At the Youth Justice Coalition we spoke with youth leaders who have been directly impacted by incarceration. Through the initiatives of the YJC, they are using their first hand experiences and knowledge to actively change the policies that adversely effect them and their communities. Listening to their stories was intensely moving and I am grateful for their willingness to share them to a bunch of note-taking strangers.
Most of us, at least those with at least a smidgen of national awareness and compassion, understand that our system of mass incarceration is deeply deeply flawed. The school to prison pipeline is documented and real. The youth – particularly those of color from poor neighborhoods – are not given an equitable chance to succeed. In the Boyle Heights neighborhood we were told that the local public high school, Roosevelt, has only about a 50% graduation rate. This is deplorable. Furthermore, the lack of developmental support manifests into disruptive behaviors. The gangs become a place to release their young, undirected anger at the world. It is an anger that stems from being neglected, being belittled, and from being oppressed. It is an alternative to suicide or hurting others. Instead, as Alex from Homies Unidos explained, “we agree to take our anger our on each other because we are both part of the same bullshit.” This is a simplified, yet deeply poignant, description of what transpires.
The education and incarceration systems still have a long way to go in order to reach something that resembles justice, but the programs we witnessed are making dents in the offensive structures. From restorative justice circles to community radio – they are each employing a variety of creative tools to engage and empower youth. As Omar, a mural artist, educator, and civil rights activist in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, reminded us, there is something about the process of creation that is really important for change. The process of research, history building, design, discussion, and collaborative action leads to a discovery of meaning. The transformation of the person, and the community, becomes an “unintended consequence of the aesthetic.”