Oakland City Council to Declare June 3rd "Youth Empowerment Day"

FOR Immediate Release
Monday, May 30, 2006
For More Information Emani Davis, (646) 523-5081


Oakland City Council to Declare June 3rd Youth
Empowerment Day to Stop “Pushouts”
from School to Prison

WHEN: Tuesday May 30, 2006, Press Conference 5:30PM,
Presentation of

Proclamation: 6PM

WHERE: Oakland City Hall, 14th Street and Broadway in
Downtown, Oakland
WHO: Oakland City Council Presenting a Proclamation
to Community Leaders, Including Former Councilmember
Wilson Riles

Oakland, CA – On Tuesday, May 30, 2006, The Oakland
City Council will present the Education Not
Incarceration Coalition with a proclamation declaring
June 3rd “Youth Empowerment Day” to stop pushouts from
school to prison. Community leaders, including former
City-coucil-member Wilson Riles, will hold a press
conference at 5:30PM in front of City Hall.

On June 3rd youth, parents, educators, labor unions,
interfaith, community members, and elected officials
will join Lennox Hinds, lawyer for South Africa,
Rwanda, Nelson Mandela and Angela Davis; Raz B, R&B
Pop Artist, formerly of B2K; Camila Chavez, daughter
of Delores Huerta, niece of Cesar Chavez and Executive
Director and co-founder of the Dolores Huerta
Foundation, and Barbara Becnel, gubernatorial
candidate and lawyer for Stanly “Tookie” Williams for
Youth Empowerment Day to launch our campaign to stop
students from being pushed out of our schools – into
our streets - and into our prisons.

In Oakland over 52% of youth and 73% of all African
American males do not finish school. Throughout the
country in inner-cities over 50% of African American
males do not finish high school; 72% of these
“pushouts” were jobless in their 20s; by their
mid-thirties, 60% had spent time in prison.

Through excessive policies of suspension and
expulsion, lack of adequate resources, insufficient
school staffing, deteriorating and decrepit facilities
and standardized “one size fits all” curriculum, our
youth are increasingly being pushed out of our schools
– on to our streets – and into our prisons.

Education Not Incarceration has worked extensively
with youth, parents and educators at McClymonds
Educational Complex and throughout Oakland to develop
a campaign that seeks to make changes to the education
system that will make students want to stay in school.

“The issue of pushouts is central to communities of
color throughout the nation. Students forced out of
school leads to unemployment and forces young people
into criminal activity to survive. We can either
invest in our children today or in their incarceration
tomorrow.” said keynote speaker Lennox Hinds.