YOUTH ARTISTS PERFORM ON STEPS OF LA CITY HALL, CALL FOR REDIRECTION OF FUNDS USED TO LOCK YOUTH UP TOWARD INVESTMENT IN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
See the Video Promoting the Event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Asqmt2BMQfQ
What: LA for Youth Concert & Rally
When: Tuesday, May 27, 2014 from 2pm-6pm
Where: West Steps of LA City Hall at 200 N. Spring St. Los Angeles, CA 90012
Visuals: Live performances, speakers, youth art and photography, banners, posters, audience on City Hall steps
(Los Angeles, CA) – On Tuesday, May 27, 2014 from 2:00pm-6:00pm, the LA for Youth Campaign is hosting a Concert and Rally on the steps of Los Angeles City Hall. The goals of the event are to uplift youth voice, visions and solutions for our communities, to display youth talent and creativity, and to provide a powerful example of what real public safety and youth development looks like.
One of the young people who organized today’s event is Alberto Cazarez of the Youth Justice Coaliiton. He stated, “I grew up in the projects where they hired no intervention workers, privatized the gym and put in a gang injunction. The whole message to us growing up was, ‘We expect you to go to prison.’ Violent crime in LA is at the lowest levels since the 1950s. But we are still seen as monsters. As young people of color, we see our schools surrounded by razor wire and police, we get stopped by police constantly on the street and on public transportation, and we get the harshest sentences in court. We need the LA for Youth Campaign to show young people some love and invest in our talents.”
Over 400 youth and adult allies from across LA County are expected to attend. There will be live performances (bands, dj’s, dancers, singers, and spoken word artists) and art demonstrations (paintings, drawings, graph art, and photography). Support for the campaign among officials is also growing. Expected guests include LA City Councilmember Curren Price, Compton Mayor Aja Brown, Candidate for Governor Luis Rodriguez, and LAUSD School Board Candidate Alex Johnson.
For too long, youth in Los Angeles have been targeted as criminals instead of as community leaders. LA County has the largest juvenile hall, jail, Probation and court system in the world. LA City and County spend more than $10 billion a year on policing, prosecution and lock-ups, and LA County makes up 27% of the state’s population but feeds 40% of the state’s prison system. Yet Los Angeles – the county as well as all of LA’s 88 cities – do not have a Department of Youth Development.
United behind the LA for Youth Campaign, youth and allied organizations across LA are calling for the redirection of 1% of the LAPD, LA County Sheriffs, courts, District Attorney’s, LA City Attorney’s and County Probation budgets to provide $100 million dollars a year that would in turn fund 25,000 youth jobs, 500 intervention/peacebuilders in schools and communities and 50 youth centers open 3pm – midnight, 365 days a year, each with a $500,000 annual budget!
As Stephanie Campos, a high school student at FREE LA High School, said, “The LA for Youth Campaign is needed to keep youth safe and out of trouble, but it’s also needed to give us job opportunities. I was forced to leave my first high school, because I couldn’t afford student fees. A lot of us are struggling financially to help our families. But there are few jobs out here that will hire youth.”
The LA for Youth Campaign is working to challenge LA’s addiction to suppression and incarceration as the only response to youth and community struggles. While officials regularly exclaim that “youth are the future,” LA lags far behind other cities and counties in public investment in youth development.
For more information, please visit www.laforyouth.org.
Organizations that Endorse the L.A. for Youth Campaign include: 2nd Call, A Place Called Home, ACLU Southern California, Alameda County Office of Education, Anakbayan Los Angeles, Anger Management 360, APUU – Advocates 4 Peace and Urban Unity, Asian Pacific American Legal Center, CADRE, California Drug Counseling, CD Tech, Centro CHA, Inc., Children’s Defense Fund-CA, City of Carson Career Center, Community Guidance Media & Network, Community Justice Network for Youth, Community Mediation Team, Conservatives for Social Change, Dchainreaction.org, Detours Mentoring Group Inc., Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children, Flintridge Center, Gay Straight Alliance Network, Girls & Gangs, Heaven, Inc., Homeboy Industries, Inner City Struggle, Jobs Create Peace, Jovenes, Inc., Justice for Families, Khmer Girls in Action, L.A. Community Action Network, L.A. County Commission on Human Relations, L.A. Workers Center, Legacy L.A., Life After Uncivil Ruthless Acts (L.A.U.R.A.), Martinez and Son Management Consulting, National Juvenile Justice Network, Onesimus, Pathways To Your Future, Pico Youth and Family Center, Power Of Green L.A., Project Cry No More, San Gabriel Valley Black Chamber of Commerce, Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos, The Senate Select Community Committee on California’s Correctional System, Seringueiro Social Justice Resources, Soledad Enrichment Action, Southern California Ceasefire, Southern California Library, South LA Homeless TAY & Foster Care Collaborative, Starting Over, Inc., Stepping Stones, Stop LAPD Spying Collation, Teen Line, Tessie Cleveland Community Services, The Positive Results Corporation, UC Berkeley Law National Lawyers Guild, United Coalition East Prevention Project (UCEPP), Venice Community Housing Corporation, Violence Intervention Program, Violence Prevention Coalition of Greater Los Angeles, Weingart East L.A. YMCA, World Vision, Youth Justice Coalition, Youth Policy Institute, and Youth Speak Collective.
