By Benedict Roemer, State Campaigns and Public Interest Communications Fellow

As evidenced by our country’s treatment of immigrant families at the border, the disproportionate incarceration of black and brown youth, and policies targeting communities of color here and abroad, the United States has continued its harmful and oppressive track record with people of color. And while the treatment of immigrants is a very visible testament to this reality, racial disparities continue to exist elsewhere as well. One area in particular is the racial wealth gap between communities of color and white communities in the United States. The racial wealth gap currently stands at a startling 13:1 differential among all households: The median net worth for a white household is $141,000, while the median  net worth of a black household is  only $11,000 per year. This divide in wealth is even greater for households living near the poverty line. For these households, the difference in median net worth is $18,000 vs. $0. Such a wide income and wealth gap leads to countless other disparities; in poverty, education, health, and incarceration.

By Harmeet Kamboj, Communications Associate

June is Pride Month, a time during which the LGBTQ+ community celebrates an array of identities that have long been rejected by mainstream culture and politics. But while rainbow flags fly across the country, LGBTQ+ people face increasing erasure as the Trump administration takes strategic steps to hinder data collection for and about this community. Most recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has made initial efforts to revise portions of the National Crime Victimization Survey by eliminating questions about gender identity and sexual orientation among 16- and 17-year-olds surveyed by the department.

By Duvall Ricks and David Crosby, New Jersey Youth Caucus

In 2011, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture deemed the use of solitary confinement against youth and individuals with mental health disabilities as torture.  For three years, I saw and experienced firsthand the impact of solitary on youth and young adults in adult jails and prisons. I watched fellow inmates crumble under the conditions of solitary.  Some committed suicide.  Others experienced severe depression and anger.  No one walks out of that experience feeling whole or somehow better than they were going in.

By Brian Evans, State Campaigns Director

Almost 1,000 participants gathered in Paris, France at the end of May for the World Congress on Justice for Children, a global conference of youth justice professionals and advocates. The conference, organized by several European and international groups, was built thematically around the issue of children involved in “violent extremism” (no doubt a significant concern), but the workshops and conversations in the hallways and courtyards of the UNESCO House were much broader in scope.

By Rachel Marshall, Federal Policy Counsel

We’re a little less than 5 months away from 2018’s crucial midterm elections, but before we can get there, states across the country are voting in packed primary elections. Here at the Campaign for Youth Justice, we’re using this opportunity to make sure local communities are getting out to vote and getting their local candidates to talk about youth justice. That’s why we were thrilled to hear Pod Save the People host DeRay McKesson talk to two out of the three candidates for Baltimore State’s Attorney on a recent episode  of the podcast ahead of Maryland’s June 26 primary election (he invited all three candidates, but the third candidate did not respond).

By Rachel Marshall, Federal Policy Counsel

“Animals.” “Menace.” “Blood-stained killing fields.” These are all terms President Donald Trump used in a one-week period to describe undocumented immigrants, alleged members of MS-13 and the purported harm they are causing our country. The White House doubled down on these assertions by releasing an official statement titled, “What You Need to Know About the Violent Animals of MS-13.”

It’s finally June, which means our summer fellows have joined us here in Washington, D.C. from all over the country to help advance justice for young people. Learn more about their backgrounds and aspirations.

By Benedict Roemer, Public Interest Communications and State Campaigns Fellow

Youth justice is all about looking at the bigger picture. We understand that children thrive when they are raised in the context of their families and communities. Yet, more than 1.5 million children lack access to their fathers, due to the mass incarceration of, particularly, men of color.  This is especially damaging to children of color, as recent research by the National Center for Health Statistics has shown that Black fathers, regardless of their marital status, are more involved in their children’s lives than any other demographic.  So, as Father’s Day approaches, let’s remember all the reasons the world needs dads at home with their children, not in prison.

By Jill Ward, Senior Advocacy Consultant, Youth First Initiative

“We're half the people; we should be half the Congress.” - Jeannette Rankin of Montana, first woman to hold federal office in the United States

That was the vision of the first woman elected to Congress in 1916, four years before the 19th amendment secured (white) women’s right to vote and another 45 years before African American men and women were able to exercise their right to vote.

By Rachel Marshall, Federal Policy Counsel

As someone who works on juvenile justice reform, it comes as no surprise that the sexual assault of incarcerated youth, particularly youth in adult jails and prisons, runs rampant. A quick scan of news stories yields alarming results. Recently, sexual abuse scandals in juvenile facilities in Texas and Wisconsin have been making both national and local headlines. And who can forget the eye-opening report from the Huffington Post in 2016, Cruel and All Too Unusual, that revealed the horrific abuse faced by youth in adult facilities in Michigan. Then there are the stories dating back five to ten years ago, like the ProPublica story headline that reads, “Sexual abuse on the rise at U.S. juvenile detention facilities” from 2013 (3 years later they published another piece titled “Why Are Rates of Sexual Abuse in Juvenile Detention Facilities on the Rise?”).