“Foto-Novella” Research Report Highlights Youth Voice to End Community Violence and Over-Criminalization of Black and Latino Youth

“May 5, 2014 5:00 to 8:00 pm: Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ) hosts youth driven research report release party and Reclaiming Cinco de Mayo event at Eastside Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94606.”

Join CURYJ at the East Side Arts Alliance for a community celebration that “connects historical resistance and contemporary organizing.” “Forgotten Voices: A Youth Vision for Oakland” is a comic-book-style research report that follows a group of young men as they navigate the day-to-day challenges that many youth of color in Oakland face. The compelling, visual, report highlights the impact that violence, criminalized school settings, gentrification and aggressive policing have on Black and Brown youth of color, especially young men.

Across the nation, Black and Brown communities are largely impacted by the criminal injustice system and preemptive policing on behalf of law enforcement officers who perceive Black and Brown youth, especially boys, as threatening. Police have played a large role, historically, in the oppression of Black and Brown communities who are targeted and find themselves being pulled into the tangled web of mass-incarceration and the criminal injustice system. The impact that this has on our youth is a determining factor in their success and the overall health and well-being of Black and Brown communities.

“In the past 40 years, the United State has shifted its approach to youth in the juvenile justice system toward punishment and warehousing, away from treatment and rehabilitation,” writes George Galvis, Executive Director of CURYJ, who also notes the use of mass media reporting of youth crime and violence as a contributor to the increase in over-criminalization of youth of color.

Black and Latino youth, are at high risk when it comes to over-criminalization. Over-policing in Oakland has had a disproportionately negative impact on Black and Brown youth. As shown in “Forgotten Voices,” practically everywhere young men of color go in Oakland, they are being targeted, harassed, and stereotyped.

Last year we released a report on the impact of policing Oakland youth where we noted that from 2006-2012, Black and Latino youth have comprised an overwhelming majority of juvenile arrests by the Oakland Police Department (OPD). While Black youth make up roughly 30% of Oakland’s school-aged population, they represent over 70% of juvenile arrests made by OPD. Latino school-aged youth make up 18.7% of those arrests. “Forgotten Voices” cites other jarring statistics about police interactions with Black and Latino youth from our policing report.

“In Oakland we are at an intersection when it comes to the future of our city. We can continue these financially and effectively unsound policies like ‘stop and frisk,’ ‘gang injunctions,’ and ‘lock them up and throw away the key.’ Or, we can turn to the innovation and creative genius that exists on the ground in communities of Oakland to develop solutions that empower youth,” writes Galvis.

For BOP, this year’s Cinco de Mayo celebration is an honoring of the rich history of community organizing by Black and Latino peoples. Together, we can begin to counter the impact that so many years of structural racism have had on our communities. It starts first with acknowledging that damage, highlighting the voice of our community and our youth who live this reality from day to day, and organizing collectively to create solutions that work for us and our communities.

The next phase to the “Forgotten Voices” project is the development of Youth and Community Empowerment Zones, through an identification of the assets, peace, and empowerment practices available for youth and community members across the city.

For more information about CURYJ and the “Forgotten Voices” project, contact George Galvis, executive director CURYJ, at georgegalvis@gmail.com or 510-842-9365. Also, visit CURYJ on Facebook.