Client News

Last week, dozens of youth leaders convened in Oakland to call for an outright end to juvenile incarceration in Alameda County, and for punitive practices to be replaced with care-based services. Hosted by Urban Peace Movement and additional members of the Free Our Kids Coalition, the town hall provided an opportunity for youth advocates to lay out their 10-point plan to end youth incarceration for an audience that included District Attorney Pamela Price, Public Defender Brendon Woods, Council Member Nikki Fortunato Bas, as well as the San Francisco Chronicle’s Race and Inequality Columnist Justin Phillips who wrote this piece on the event and the compelling case made by these young people.

It’s not too late to add your name to the petition to keep Imani “Terri” Turner free. Terri is a Black mother of five and a member of Essie Justice Group who was arrested in Georgia and faced murder charges after surviving domestic violence. Earlier this month, Chief Magistrate Judge Phinea Aten determined that the prosecution had no probable cause to pursue the case against Imani, who acted in self-defense. The decision was based in part on a grim new study on how bruising patterns differ across skin tones, which discredited the prosecution’s argument that a lack of bruising was inconsistent with Imani’s allegations of abuse.

Despite this important win, Imani is still fighting for her continued freedom. Until District Attorney Johnson makes the commitment not to push for a grand jury indictment, Imani and her family continue to experience the uncertainty of what might happen next. Sign your name to call on DA Johnson to protect Black women domestic violence survivors and #KeepImaniFree.  

 

What We’re Watching

Alicia Garza, Founder and Principal of the Black to the Future Action Fund, joined Alicia Menendez on MSNBC to talk about how gun violence is a top issue among Black voters. According to a poll of Black voters in California, Georgia, and North Carolina, Black communities are increasingly dissatisfied with the political system. It is “brazen attempts by the minority to control the will of the majority from abortion access to gun control” by choosing a “culture war, rather than put legislation on the table that actually makes people’s lives better,” that is causing this downward trend.

What We’re Reading

Steve Philllips wrote this opinion piece for The Guardian, arguing that the day Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union forces, thereby bringing an end to the Civil War, should be made a national holiday. Writes Phillips: “For the health of our democracy, the education of our children, and the elevation of the vision and values that this is a nation where people of all racial backgrounds are cherished, we should launch a movement from coast to coast to make 9 April a holiday.”