NDSA 2021: Youth Justice
The Listening, Inc observes the National Day of Social Action in Lynchburg, VA as a part of the CDF Freedom Schools movement
Local children and community members will take action to address youth incarceration
What: On July 21, 2021, The Listening will join over 180 Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools→ sites in 87 cities and 28 states across the country for a National Day of Social Action to focus on issues of youth justice in communities across America and the change that local youth want to see to make their communities more just. Erin “Rox” Cruz, Project Director for The Listening’s Freedom School program, points out how nonprofits with youth programming, like The Listening, can be a preventative measure against youth incarceration. She states, “while nonprofits are struggling financially to keep these programs afloat, 1 kid in Virginia's juvenile justice system costs taxpayers over 200,000 for just 1 year. And each student only costs about $11,000 per year for public schools. If we paid our teachers and nonprofits more, we wouldn't have to put our babies in jail.”
The purpose of the National Day of Social Action is to give Freedom School scholars the opportunity to take part in a collective action to constructively use their voices and creativity to express their own desire for change and justice. This year’s goals are to empower scholars to lead and participate in civic engagement, amplify the local issue of youth justice to the larger community, and educate the community about alternatives to carceral youth justice. Nicholas George, founding Executive Director of The Listening states, “Our young people’s voices are so powerful, and we hope to help direct their energies towards real issues that impact them and their communities.”
Children and community members will march along Jefferson Avenue to bring awareness to the impact that youth incarceration has on our community. Lacroy Nixon, site coordinator for The Listening’s Freedom School program says, “It’s important to bring awareness to youth incarceration because no child should be behind bars. Lack of support and poor decision making should not limit the potential of our youth”. Independent research reveals the following:
In 2019, 696,620 children were arrested in the U.S. (see Table 32). A child or teen was arrested every 45 seconds despite a 62 percent reduction in child arrests between 2009 and 2019.
Two-thirds (67 percent) of children in the juvenile justice system were children of color: 41 percent were Black and 21 percent were Hispanic.
The percentage of LGBTQ+ children in the juvenile justice system (20 percent) is more than two times that of LGBTQ youth in the general population (7-9 percent); 85 percent are LGBTQ children of color.
There will also be a virtual NDSA nationwide rally. The rally will be broadcasted nationwide and will feature CDF Freedom Schools scholars and special guests as speakers. Virtual Rally date and time: Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. ET.
This youth justice awareness and prevention effort is part of CDF Freedom Schools. The CDF Freedom Schools program provides summer enrichment that helps children fall in love with reading and empowers them to believe in their ability to make a difference. The Listening has hosted a local Freedom School program since 2019, suspending the program in 2020 as a direct impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The National Day of Social Action is the cornerstone of the civic engagement component of the CDF Freedom Schools program that encourages community service and social justice advocacy. The Listening is a local nonprofit organization with the mission to engage, change and save lives with the performing arts. Since 2013, The Listening has actively contributed to Lynchburg’s creative community with public events, collaborative projects and youth programming.