Grassroots Justice

                It is evident that relying on the justice system maintained through the government is like waiting on a dead bird to fly. When your relying on something that hopeless at the age of 16, 17…or even younger there’s a search for alternative forms of justice. The Youth for Justice/ Free LA non-profit organization comes in here.

                Youth for Justice was founded almost seven years ago by previously incarcerated youth. It was set up as a regularly scheduled meeting for all youth affected and connected to the juvenile justice system in Los Angeles in one way or another. They have expanded and developed to create an alternative school that has been running for three years now.

                I went to visit the school last week and there is only one real way to describe the energy: DOPE. With revolutionary graffiti covering the walls and young people in the administration as well as the classroom I was overwhelmed by the sense of independence this space represented. One of the coordinators explained that a lot of the students who were enrolled had faced discrimination from PUBLIC high school education and therefore they have an extra obstacle in the way of them reentering society successfully. I was unaware that public education could discriminate in such ways!!! The students at Y4J learn standard math, english, and history as well as community organizing and grassroots leadership skills. #BRILLIANT.

                In a nutshell, the Y4J coalition is working to educate and empower the young people who have been rejected and ignored by their society. The greatest part about it: it was made by these outcasts of society. Rather than giving up or complaining aimlessly they organized. They found a way to help foster successful reentry based on what they knew they needed.

                There are many floating theories about how to improve the juvenile justice system in America. From psychological to educational rehabilitation methods, none that I have read through suggest talking to the wards themselves to see what would prepare them better for society. If you ask me, the government should give organizations like Youth for Justice the money and power to shape the future of the system. That way the children within the system have a voice, the people who care about the kids are the ones who shape policy rather than those who profit from the system, and the word justice will no longer be the biggest joke of the century.

                The question is this: how do we as a society enforce true democracy? How do we give the people the power they were promised as citizens of the United States? I think Youth for Justice has it figured out a lot more than the rest of us bloggoons that sit and type their feelings and criticisms without any implementation or organization. We need to stop being so complacent with complaining. We need to get organized, get angry, and if we can use the web to vent we should be able to use it to organize re-democratize America!

Just a humble thought. Searching for justice…

-Judge Juvi