Search Results
As we look toward this year’s general election, the escalating negative political rhetoric is once again targeting the issues affecting people most marginalized in this country: transgender rights, reproductive autonomy, immigration, just to name a few. History has shown that these attacks are not new; they are a political ploy to stoke distrust and division during a critical election year while creating backlash against progressive wins. States and local jurisdictions across the country are passing bills to roll back progress on our civil liberties.
San Francisco, CA—Arts organizations are facing unprecedented challenges as they’ve suspended public programming to help our communities adapt to life-saving shelter-in-place orders. The Arts Loan Fund, managed by Northern California Grantmakers, has announced a COVID-19 Emergency Loan to support arts and culture nonprofits and fiscally sponsored organizations in the eleven Bay Area counties. Organizations can apply for these low-interest loans to cover basic expenses such as staff salaries, artist payments, rent, and other operating costs during this challenging time.
CCJFG is starting a new practice of spotlighting our partners in the movement to end policing, prisons, and criminalization. Our goal is to shine a light on grassroots organizations that may be lesser-known, but are instrumental in moving us towards an abolitionist vision of a more just and resourced world. This month, we are happy to spotlight the work of the Justice Reinvestment Coalition of Alameda County. Know a grassroots organization that deserves a spotlight? Share with us at [email protected].
Our criminal justice system is broken. It disproportionately impacts and targets communities of color and poor communities, and costs California taxpayers billions a year, money that could otherwise be directed towards more fruitful investments in community development, drug treatment, mental health services, education, and jobs. Our system of mass incarceration does not increase public safety, reduce crime, or bring adequate relief to crime survivors
The Asian Pacific Islander (API) community is gravely impacted by both the criminal justice and immigration systems, yet we don’t hear enough about the challenges and needs of this population. The API prisoner population grew by 250% in the 1990s and API individuals incarcerated in California received life sentences at double the rate of the overall state prison population.
2020 has truly tested our resolve. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people in prison cannot be understated. As rates of infection rose inside prisons throughout the state, we witnessed our movement partners quickly and efficiently organize in response to this crisis. We witnessed the same tenacity and steadfastness this summer, as organizers led uprisings worldwide to protest racist state violence after the killing of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and countless others—violence that is all too familiar for incarcerated people and their families.
CCJFG Steering Committee members are excited to share the following books and podcasts that have accompanied us as we settle into Spring 2021. The content ranges from writings on indigenous forms of justice and healing to a podcast tracing the connections between hip-hop and mass incarceration to a mixed media collection of responses to the question, what does it mean to be Black and alive? These stories are rigorous, compelling, and bring us closer to understanding the intersections of history, justice work, and future-making.