CURYJ in the face of 2020

CURYJ and BOP young leaders organized the Black and Brown Unity Rally during the George Floyd Uprising; Photo by Brooke Anderson

2020 has been a difficult year physically and spiritually. It has exposed many of the injustices Black and Brown people face. It has forced us to step up and find new ways to love and support our community. Despite the challenges we at CURYJ have a lot to feel grateful for.

We are grateful that we were able to quickly adapt virtual strategies and continue all of our important work in program, policy, life coaching, participatory defense, and community healing. We leaned into supporting our current and former participants and their families this year including:

Homies 4 Justice graduation: Omar, Edith, Paula, and Kevin with Cristina and Fernando receiving their certificates and holiday gifts from us and our partners at Williams-Sonoma, Inc.

This year has also seen a lot of personal growth from our staff and our team is growing. Our bittersweet update is that both Daniel Mendoza and Juan “Ikon” Tapia have moved on from CURYJ to new opportunities. Both Daniel and Ikon have been part of CURYJ since they were teenagers and have made us what we are today.

Daniel and Ikon are forever part of the CURYJ fam

Some of our staff’s accomplishments are:

We renovated our Fruitvale Community Garden allowing us to hold socially distant sessions outdoors. Thanks to our friends at Planting Justice as well as Last Ones and Oakland Unite for the mural.

This year has made clear that communal care is at the heart of our work. When we show up for another — to keep us housed, fed, and safe — we succeed in the meaningful work of investing in the strength and healing of our community.

To support our work you can give a tax-deductible gift to CURYJ. Your support will allow us to continue to stay grounded in our work and respond to the needs of our community.

Amanda Majail-Blanco supported by Leo Mercer after the CHP murder of Erik Salgado; photo by Stephen Flynn

Thank you for being a part of CURYJ’s 2020. We appreciate how you showed up. Let’s end strong and continue the fight in 2021!

Peace,

George & the CURYJ family

#WeKeepUsSafe #DreamBeyondBars

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CURYJ unlocks the leadership of young people to dream beyond bars.

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CURYJ

CURYJ unlocks the leadership of young people to dream beyond bars.