Take Action to Reform the Criminal Justice System

Want to join me in making a difference? I'm raising money to benefit National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, and any donation will help make an impact.

The reason that racism exists goes all the back to when the slaves were still legal in the US. For my project, I was fortunate to talk with adults working to eliminate racism who helped me understand the history and roots of racism. Racism evolved into different types just like covid has different types of mutations. First, there were slaves, then there were discriminatory laws against colored people (Jim Crow era,) and then there is today there is racism in our systems - economic, health, education, housing and justice systems. It’s racism. It just looks different; it mutates. In this project I’m specifically focusing on the unfairness of the US justice system. This “justice system” favors white people. For example, people of color are more likely to get arrested and convicted, and when convicted get longer sentences. They are more likely to be pulled over and more likely to be harassed and/or harmed and even killed by police. People of color are more likely to be imprisoned than white people though they are a smaller percentage of the population, breaking up families and communities and placing hardship on children. These same children often face harsher punishments in schools and in the justice system. It doesn’t stop there. Health outcomes and life expectancy is much lower for people of color. COVID showed us that. This type of injustice exists because we have not worked to counter biases that we are aware of and those that we aren’t as conscious of, and we haven’t figured out how to create systems that fully support and benefit people of color like white people. If we don’t address these things, racism will just continue to mutate.

National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform is working to help make the justice system more equitable and fair. The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (NICJR) strives to reduce incarceration and violence, improve the outcomes of system-involved youth and adults, and increase the capacity and expertise of the organizations that serve these individuals. NICJR provides technical assistance, consulting, research, and organizational development in the areas of juvenile and criminal justice, youth development, and violence prevention. NICJR works with an array of organizations, including government agencies, philanthropic foundations, and other nonprofit organizations.

One small act you can take is to support this organization and cause that I care about. Help us fight racism and create a more equitable justice system in this country. Help me reach my goal of $1,800 by my Bar Mitzvah, Feb 19th.