What's Happening in the Local Courthouse?

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i think the first thing people should be able to do is look within the proximity of their own community. All those injustices that you mean to read about when you read michel alexander's book, or you watch the movies at the documentaries, that's all happening every day at that institution. People living in this moment right now, are living at a moment where we can make the type of change that in our art ore grand kids, we'll be looking and talking about. i need to read the simple because i haoi hadyo, build a last movement.

How would you describe your community? And what if the stories you tell have the power to save someone from injustice? With the popularity and support of movements like Black Lives Matter, it seems the world is reckoning with how we think about the systems and institutions that support mass incarceration. Today’s guest, Raj Jayadev, wants us to focus on “proximate, intimate change” in our local communities and courts. He is the co-founder and coordinator of Silicon Valley De-Bug, a community organizing, media and advocacy organization based in San Jose, California. For over a decade, De-Bug has employed a methodology they call “participatory defense”, an approach where families whose loved ones are facing the criminal court system can use their stories to transform the landscape of power in the courts. Raj and the De-Bug team have expanded their work into the National Participatory Defense Network, with hubs in more than 30 cities. His community organizing and writings have been featured in the New York Times, BBC, and TIME Magazine. In 2018, Raj was selected as a MacArthur Fellow. If you’d like to learn more about participatory defense or get involved, you can start at: https://www.participatorydefense.org/