Written by: Desirae Duncan, Summer Youth Organizing Academy Participant 

Organizing on the buses is very nerve wrecking but memorable, we talked to all kinds of people with different backgrounds. Blacks, Latinos, Asians, men, women, old folk and young people--each person has there own mind and beliefs. Each time I go on the bus I am nervous but excited because I’m part of a movement, making history and spreading awareness with each conversation I have. This inspires me to keep going because change will happen, slowly but with the possibility of improvement if not for us for generations to come.

I remember when a male person came up to me and my peers while we were organizing and asked "what does not down with the lockdown mean?" This situation energized me because I love to see people interested and asking questions. We explained the school-to-prison pipeline and how badly it's affecting the youth which he agreed with. He had actually just left prison that morning and we managed to get his contact info at the end of the conversation. This moment stood out to me the most because he was very motivated to be a part in the Community Rights Campaign. People that are heavily impacted by the prison system need to be organized because if they share their experiences it will open our eyes to the conditions we're all exposed to and how unjust they really are.