Please join us Monday, March 14th, 9:00AM – 8:00PM, for a March and TAKEOVER of an Abandoned L.A. City library in South Central at 6527 Crenshaw Blvd! Marchers will arrive at the library at 2:00PM and stay until 8:00PM for workshops, free meals, resources and youth performances. Young people of color in L.A. want and DESERVE more Youth Centers, Youth Jobs, and Community Peace-builders in our communities, NOT more Prisons, Police, and Empty Lots!
Then, on Tuesday, March 15th, 9:30AM at City Hall to push LA to invest in youth!
*Go to www.laforyouth.org for more Details and a Map of the march routes.
*TWEET/INSTAGRAM: @YouthJusticeLA @LA4Youth
#LA4Youth #MarchForRespect
WHY ARE WE TAKING OVER AN ABANDONED LIBRARY?
On Monday, March 14, youth and their allies from across LA will march a total of 50 miles from 10 different directions and take over an abandoned library to demand that LA invest in youth development. The LA City Library’s Hyde Park branch on Crenshaw and 66th has been abandoned since 2004.
Four years ago, in December of 2011, youth leaders with the Youth Justice Coalition tried to convert this library into a temporary community center to demonstrate the need for more positive activities for youth. As youth were sweeping up trash and setting up food and information tables, the LAPD reacted with full force. According to media who covered the event: “LAPD officers arrived within an hour–apparently alarmed that young people of color were trying to enter a library–and immediately shut the outside gates, trapping about half of the youth and supporters, including media and legal observers, on the property. Approximately 40 police closed nearby streets within 4 blocks of the library, and had arrest vans and a helicopter on the scene. The youth participating in the action were threatened with arrest for trespassing and $5000 bail. They were eventually able to leave the site without arrest when they accepted a commitment from the County Supervisors and the LAPD to meet regarding the need for abandoned public properties to be turned over for community use. Following the eviction, the city–which can never seem to find resources to provide for the basic needs of the community–constructed an 8-foot tall fence around the library and parking lot.
LA for Youth calls on LA County leaders to stop incarcerating youth and help build a better future for our students. LA for Youth seeks to redirect 1% of the County’s law enforcement budget and 5% of City’s law enforcement budget to create:
City and County Departments of Youth Development
Provide at least $100 Million countywide and $136 million citywide to fund 100 youth centers, 1,000 peacebuilders / Intervention workers in the streets and in schools, and 50,000 youth jobs.
Fight the lockdown! Bring your solutions on Monday to the library!
Together, we can FREE LA!
*Go to www.laforyouth.org for more details and a map of the march routes.
TWEET/INSTAGRAM: @YouthJusticeLA @LA4Youth
#LA4Youth #MarchForRespect
https://www.facebook.com/events/1042841345757880/
