Last summer, I was a fellow for the first cohort of the Next Generation Fellowship (NGF) put together by CJCJ and MILPA. It was a highlight of my year, and a place I ended up meeting individuals that would unexpectedly change the trajectory of my life. At the time, I was a 35-year-old undergraduate transfer student at …
NGF Voices: Building Collective Power for a Better Future Read More »
At 8-years-old I was selected to compete in my first regional All-Star baseball tournament. For eight consecutive years after that, I was selected and chosen to play in winter travel teams. I played with friends in the park, and always with my older brother in front of our garage. The sport allowed me to enjoy …
The current movement in California to make college degrees accessible to persons with juvenile and criminal records includes several efforts, including the following: streamline the relationship between prisons and local colleges to deliver on-site and remote courses during incarceration; bridge the transfer of transcripts from schools behind bars to colleges on the “outs”; develop college-coordinated …
NGF Voices: Pathways from Youth Prisons to Colleges for Young Adults Read More »
It is six in the morning and I hear “bang!” Five S.W.A.T. police officers pummel our front door with a batting ram. They proceed to yell “police!” while running throughout our home, and begin yelling at my grandparents, mother, and me once they find us relishing in the warmth of our beds. We are swiftly …
NGF Voices: From Sitting in Detention to Standing in Culture Read More »