In the summer of 2014, a team of exceptional young men worked with artists Esteban del Valle and Jose de Jesus Rodriguez to research, design, and fabricate a mural in Brownsville, Brooklyn exposing how the United States judicial system has failed young men of color and their communities.
 
Through a unique partnership with WNET, the young people of Groundswell's Making His'tory team, with the help of Groundswell's Youth Media Council, are able to spread their message to thousands more online and in the classroom. Watch the video and join the conversation on social media by using #groundswellnyc. 
 
During the course of the project, the youth reflected on how mass incarceration has impacted their lives, their families, and their neighborhoods, with special attention paid to Brownsville where 1 in 12 residents between the ages of 16 and 24 are incarcerated. 
 
The young people studied Michelle Alexander's The New Jim Crow, to gain insight into how– as a nation founded on the principles of liberty and equality– the United States of the twenty-first century can imprison African American and Hispanic man at such staggering rates that are so vastly disproportionate to the rate of incarceration for white men. They learned that 1 in 106 white men is behind bars, compared to 1 in 36 Hispanic men, and 1 in 15 African American men. That ratio lowers further to 1 in 9 when considering young African American men between 20 and 34 years old. 
 
The team looked at the racialization of the War on Drugs and the effect it has had on drug crime sentencing in communities of color. They learned that 50% of state and local prisoners are incarcerated for drug-related offenses.
 
They thought about the cyclical nature of crime, violence, addiction, and the judicial system and developed ideas for how individuals and communities can break the cycle, including increasing access to education, affordable housing, employment, healthcare, and childcare.
 
Learn more about  justice system reform in New York City. Visit Center for Court Innovation.
 
Know who represents you and where they stand on this issue. Visit Common Cause.
 
Add your voice to the call in New York State to “Raise the Age” and keep youth out of adult prisons.