November 4, 2015, marks the one-year anniversary of the passage of Proposition 47, The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act. Thousands of people have been released from prison and jail. More than 150,000 have already applied to erase old felonies from their records, unlocking opportunities for jobs, education, and more. An estimated one million Californians are eligible for relief under this new law and only have two more years to apply.
But we can’t rest now. There is a growing threat that the savings from releasing people from prison might be directed back into further incarceration and programs led by law enforcement, not services that are owned by the community. The Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) has scheduled its first of seven regional meetings on the implementation of Proposition 47 right here in Oakland. It’s part of a statewide tour to gather public input on our funding priorities, and we must tell them we want care, not cages.
Will you join us for a rally and concert, and accelerate momentum for change into the future as we march over to the hearing and demand the savings be spent in the community not in jails?
4-6 pm: Concert and Rally at the Lake Merritt Amphitheater
6-8 pm: Mobilization to Public Hearing on Prop 47 at Alameda County Administration Building (1221 Oak Street, Oakland).
Sponsors: Bay Area Black Worker Center, BOCA, Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB), Causa Justa – Just Cause, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice (CURYJ), East Bay Community Law Center, East Oakland Building Healthy Communities, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Oakland Community Organizations, Oakland Rising, People United for a Better Life in Oakland (PUEBLO), Urban Peace Movement.