Category Archives: Justice

The cycling of mostly men of color through the California prison system and onto the streets of Oakland is a revolving door that impacts many families by having a brother, father, son or mother that has spent time in prison. … Continue reading →

“The choice is clear: We can no longer afford to simply lock people up. It is time for California and its counties to fix our broken criminal justice system and to take a new approach to keeping our communities safe.”   … Continue reading →

By Barbara Grady Nick Smith was shuttled from high school to high school in recent years, whenever a relative died or was shot. When his mother died of cancer three years ago he moved from San Ramon Valley High School … Continue reading →

Eunique is a vibrant 18-year-old African-American student at Oakland’s Fremont High whose Dad was incarcerated when she was seven years old. “I’ll be honest with you,” she said as her broad smile stopped in its tracks. “I didn’t get any … Continue reading →

By Barbara Grady Judge Gloria Rhynes leveled with the young Oakland mother whose third grader had missed two months of school. “Did you know, the California Department of Corrections looks at who is absent in the third grade to figure … Continue reading →

Marianna – who looks older than her 42 years and talks in the rapid-fire, high-pitched staccato of someone who has spent years on crack, which along with heroin and alcohol, were her drugs of choice – vividly recalled her then … Continue reading →

It’s Wednesday morning in a large building by the Oakland International Airport. In the room are 62 men who have one thing in common: They were all released from prison in the last week and this is their first mandatory … Continue reading →

Earthy Young is sitting at a table in the large industrial kitchen at Medford House, a residential treatment program, located in a poor section of Hayward, right below the BART tracks. Young was 22 years old when he went to … Continue reading →

Some 30 people, mostly men, pack around a long table at the Private Industry Council in downtown Oakland. This looks something like a community college class: A span of ages, attentive, dressed neatly, but informally. All are on probation or … Continue reading →

David Shivers is a 34-year-old Oakland native who has been in and out of prison a half dozen times. His life of crime started when he was 13. “We were homeless and my mother was doing drugs,” Shivers said in … Continue reading →