JUSTICE FOR DC YOUTH
Justice for DC Youth
Washington, D.C.
After Jana’e Solomon’s brother was arrested, she was hurt and upset. Then she got busy.
Last year, she joined Justice for DC Youth, a nonprofit founded in 2001 that is fighting to reform the district’s juvenile justice system.
JDCY believes D.C. youth are disproportionately affected by crime and the criminal justice system. It works not only to support youth in the system, but to move the system away from incarceration to education.
These goals resonated with Jana’e, 21. “Being a black young woman, I have firsthand witness to some of those disparities,” she said. “I took it upon myself to kind of just get involved and see what I could do to give back and maybe prevent another life from being wasted through incarceration.”
Jana’e is part of JDCY’s "Prison to College" Pipeline project at the University of Maryland. University students and staff provide mentoring, leadership development skills and political education to incarcerated youth.
It has become a passion for Jana’e. “I had plans on going to medical school, but now I’m feeling like this is where my heart is and I’ve pretty much changed my whole curriculum,” she said.
Why do you think it’s so important to change the justice system in D.C.?
There’s so many things in D.C. that are wrong, that probably other places don’t experience, even though other inner cities probably have similar problems. But I just feel like there’s so much in D.C. that maybe people are unaware of. It’s like you think of Washington, the White House, you don’t think about the projects or the housing units that are there. So it’s kind of like it goes unnoticed.
What issues are most in need of action?
I think education. I think it really does start there. Some of our kids, you know, they’re being passed in school and they’re still reading on the third grade level and they’re in ninth grade. And it kind of sets them back, you know, it’s kind of setting them up for failure.
I think it starts with policy. Some of the rules in schools are unnecessary and a disadvantage to students. I was in a workshop the other day, and we were talking about suspension and how you can get a 10-day suspension for roaming the halls. … If you get to 10 days, then you’re suspended for the whole semester. It’s not really advantageous, you know, for students.
What kind of work are you doing now?
Right now we’re basically implementing our Prison to College pipeline. We’re doing trainings for students at University of Maryland to be able to go into the facilities and work there.
When we go there, we don’t only do workshops and tutoring. We go there to build relationships. … We play games and stuff like that. And it’s just like to know that somebody there cares about them.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced?
The biggest challenge is that you go in and you’re not always successful. Some of the boys, they just don’t want to, for whatever reason, it may not be you. But sometimes you’re just not able to get through, or you’re not able to get things accomplished that you want to get accomplished.
Copyright 2009 Y-Press