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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
Over the next 20 years in the U.S., $35–70 trillion in wealth will transfer from one generation to another in the largest generational wealth transfer in history, mostly moving within wealthy white families. The policies that make possible this protection and accumulation of wealth are situated within the legacy of land theft, genocide of Native people, enslavement of Black people, and exploitation of natural resources. This context of racial capitalism has also given rise to wealth accumulation that, in part, birthed the philanthropic sector. Paradoxically, many of us working within philanthropy aim to contribute to changes in systems, structures, and outcomes that address the harms of interconnected systems like racial capitalism that favor some at the expense of others and the planet.
The California Criminal Justice Funders Group is thrilled to welcome our newest Steering Committee member: Fela Thomas, Senior Program Manager (People Pathway) with San Francisco Foundation (SFF). We have valued Fela’s active participation as a CCJFG member over the past couple of years and are excited to strengthen our collaboration with Fela as a Steering Committee member. Learn more about Fela below!
This summer, the California Criminal Justice Funders Group welcomed two new Steering Committee members Krea Gomez (she/they) and Julie Vue (she/they). We're so grateful for their wisdom and guidance. Read the Q&A with both of them here.
NCG is thrilled to announce that the illustrious James Head, former CEO of the East Bay Community Foundation amongst other distinguished posts will be joining our team as the new 5 Shifts Senior Fellow.
The realities, challenges, and larger context of what Black and brown trans communities are facing locally and nationally are not well-known to funders or to our society in general. The list of articles below showcases Bay Area trans leaders and their organization’s work. From how The Transgender District is meeting the urgent needs of houseless trans people surviving in the pandemic, the ongoing legislative battles on trans youth and how GSA Network is building the leadership of trans youth of color, to the ongoing criminalization of undocumented trans migrants.
As we consider our roles, it is important to remember that justice is defined not by our own definitions but by the communities directly experiencing injustice. It is also important to keep in sight how our roles align with, support and uplift the existing work of community organizers who have long advocated for restorative and healing justice as common practice, rather than forms of justice defined by the same systems and institutions that uphold structural racism.