On April 23rd, the Community Rights Campaign held its first community meeting on the issue of "truancy" tickets and school police conduct. There were 25 people in the room-a multigenerational and multiracial group of students, parents and concerned community members. Participants shared their personal experiences-Lina Flowers (see video below) shared her story of standing up to the judge to dismiss her son's ticket since he had been late to school because he was sick. Edith Honorato (check out her full article) discussed the pain and humiliation she felt after being ticketed for being late when she was caretaking for her younger siblings while her parents were away. Other participants discussed their concerns with school police conduct-the mental harm caused by being harassed or abused in what should be a safe place, how handcuffing our youth at such a young age will only serve to get our youth used to the "bracelets," and more.

These community meetings will continue to be a space for strategy and
discussion on how to advance our No to Pre-Prisons Campaign.

Join us for our next meeting on Thursday, May 21st at 6:30pm and the Strategy Center's office.

Learn more about our youth organizing here.

Support our youth organizing by attending People's Poetry!