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John,
Last year, Juneteenth became a federal holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States, but this isn’t enough. We must continue to fight for Black people in the United States to be seen in their full humanity and treated as such. This week, the Alliance is celebrating Juneteenth by highlighting the youth organizers who are fighting for Black liberation in their communities.
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Organizing for Black Liberation in the Alliance Network
This Juneteenth, we are celebrating the youth organizers who fight for the equal justice and liberation that has yet to be delivered to Black people across the country. Here’s a quick glimpse into the Black liberation organizing work that Alliance youth organizers are doing in their communities.
Restoration of Voting Rights
Chicago Votes has been leading some of the most revolutionary voting rights through their Unlock Civics program. In 2019, they wrote and passed landmark legislation – the Voting in Jails bill – that expanded voting access for incarcerated citizens who are eligible to vote. This made Cook County Jail the first jail in the country to become an official polling location allowing for 1,500 people in pretrial detention to vote.
Getting Cops out of Schools
Since their founding in 2018, Leaders Igniting Transformation (LIT) has been at the forefront of the fight to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline in their community. In 2020, after years of organizing, public pressure, and over 1,000 testimonies, the Milwaukee Public School Board unanimously passed a resolution to end all contracts between the Milwaukee Police Department and Milwaukee Public Schools! They’ve also blocked TSA-style metal detectors from schools and decreased police presence in and around Milwaukee and La Crosse area-schools.
Divesting from Police and Holding Police Accountable
Ohio Student Association (OSA) worked in coalition to canvass, host educational events, and collect signatures to pass the Citizens for a Safer Cleveland ballot initiative and won this last November. This initiative would ensure independent civilian oversight of investigations into police misconduct and give final authority on discipline decisions to a board of community leaders.
Affordable Housing for Black Families
Minnesota Youth Collective is part of the Minneapolis United for Rent Control coalition building a movement for strong rent control, mobilizing to council meetings, and community events. After the rent control ballot measure passed last November, the coalition is fighting for policies that reflect the needs of the majority-renter population in the city.
Read more on Black liberation work happening throughout the network over on the Alliance Blog!
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Spotlight on Black Leaders in the Network
Strong Black leadership is integral to the fight for Black Liberation. Get to know some of the Black leaders throughout the Alliance Network, and the work their orgs are doing this year!
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Youth organizers in the Alliance Network know that the fight for Black liberation will transform our communities and create a better future for us all. We’re grateful for their leadership always – but especially today.
To celebrating the local fights for Black liberation,
Dakota Hall
Executive Director
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Alliance for Youth Action
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