JUSTICE THROUGH UNITY-The people of the County of Los Angeles and beyond need to understand that spending $3.5 billion on new jails instead of focusing on local services that could prevent mostly black and brown people from ending up behind bars in the first place is in the best interest of all of us—and not just black and brown people. 

According to historian and UCLA Professor Kelly Lytle Hernandez, LA County isn’t just the biggest jailer in the United States—it is the biggest jailer in the world. Hernandez has studied incarceration in Los Angeles for more than a decade. Her recent book, City of Inmates: Conquest, Rebellion, and the Rise of Human Caging in Los Angeles, 1771–1965 (Justice, Power, and Politics), explains how Los Angeles became the world’s leading incarcerator. 

But one such story of resilience not included her book is the story of Reform LA County Jails. I learned about this effort a couple of months ago when one of its leaders, Jasmyne Cannick, (left, in photo above) presented the idea that Reform LA Jails was attempting to gather 100,000 signatures over a few short months. It sounded impossible. 

The vision of Patrisse Cullors, (right, in photo above) co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter and a leader of the Reform LA Jails Coalition, is to equip the Civilian Oversight Commission with the power to subpoena records and to compel the testimony of deputies and their superiors accused of wrongdoing—hence the initiative. 

To read more of Sharon Kyle's article, please click here.