Please come out and join in an act of solidarity for the dignity of our youth!
NIA Dispatches: “Please join us and several other Chicago groups on Monday, May 19, at 5pm at Paderewski Elementary School at 2221 S. Lawndale Avenue (a school that was shut down by CPS last year) for an action and march to kick off the 2014 National Week of Action Against Incarcerating Youth.
After sharing some poetry, hearing some speeches from young people, and participating in a symbolic collective action (using padlocks – so bring one or two with you), we will march to the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center on Roosevelt and Ogden (2.5 miles).
Marching from a closed school to the youth detention facility symbolizes our commitment to advocate for better use of public funds; namely more funding for schools and extracurricular activities, jobs and vocational skills development, behavioral and mental health services, community-based alternatives to incarceration, and other restorative justice measures.
Please join us and spread the word to your colleagues, youth, and friends. This timely action and march comes after the United Nations Human Rights Committee recently urged the United States to end the practice of transferring minors to adult court, and the Juvenile Justice Initiative issued its report on the devastating impact of transferring minors to adult court in Cook County.
Co-sponsors of the march include (please let us know if you would like to add your group to the list by emailing Mariame at projectnia@hotmail.com):
Black and Pink – Chicago
Black Youth Project 100 (Chicago Chapter)
Canaan Community Church
Circles and Ciphers
Chicago Grassroots Curriculum Taskforce
Chicago Freedom School
Chicago Students Organizing to Save Our Schools (CSOSOS)
Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women
Conscious Souls in Action at Rudy Lozano Leadership Academy
Gender JUST
Health and Medicine Policy Research Group
Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health
Illinois Safe Schools Alliance
Kuumba Lynx
Lawndale Christian Legal Center
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO)
A Long Walk Home
Occupy Rogers Park
Overpass Light Brigade Chicago
Project NIA
Revolutionary Poets Brigade
Students for a Sensible Drug Policy (Francis W. Parker Chapter)
Sustainable Schools Action Team (Alliance for Climate Education)”
