SAN FRANCISCO - Twenty-three northern California high school students will embark on a week-long investigation of the juvenile justice system as a part of the ACLU-NC tenth anniversary of the Howard A. Friedman First Amendment Education Project. The Project’s upcoming trip--“Guilty Until Proven Innocent? A Youth Study of Influences and Consequences Surrounding Juvenile Justice” --will bring together students from throughout northern California, as they explore rehabilitation programs, juvenile court, youth advocacy groups, gang prevention programs, and law enforcement agencies across the state. The students are from Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, Saratoga, Davis, Fremont, El Cerrito, Fremont, Sacramento, San Jose and Piedmont.

“This year’s trip is especially important because of the widespread call for reform of California’s juvenile justice system,” said Eveline Chang, Howard A. Friedman Project Director. “This investigation is by and for youth who will be asking tough questions about the root causes of juvenile crime, how societal concepts of young people impact policy, and what programs really work. They will visit a Youth Authority facility in Chino to hear from incarcerated youth and will meet with the San Jose Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and the Marin Youth Court. And from all of this they hope to begin to find answers to these critical issues.”

Highlights of the trip, which spans from July 31 to August 7, includes a visit Oakland’s National Council on Crime and Delinquency, the oldest criminal justice research organization in the United States, to Los Angeles to tour Central Juvenile Hall, and to visit Homeboy Industries, a cutting edge organization that works in rehabilitation and prevention of juvenile crime and gang activity. In addition to visiting other organizations and centers, law enforcement officers and youth advocates, the students will conclude their exploration with a visit to The Beat Within, a writing program that serves youth in California’s juvenile halls. The Beat Within staff, some of whom are formerly incarcerated youth, will facilitate a writing workshop with students, share their writings and discuss their experiences.

The Friedman Project has sponsored nine previous summer trips that have covered a wide range of topics and included students from high schools across California. Previous issues have included tribal sovereignty, corporate America, and immigration. Following the trip, the students will be asked to speak in classrooms across northern California and compile a report documenting the trip with their writings, artwork, poetry and photographs.

The ACLU-NC’s Friedman First Amendment Education Project was established in 1991 in memory of former Chair of the ACLU-NC Board of Directors, Howard A. Friedman. The Project strives to embody his deep commitment to the education of young people by encouraging them to explore and question the complex civil rights and constitutional issues of the day.

In addition to sponsoring the yearly trip, the Project also organizes an annual northern California high school students’ rights conference, provides speakers for high school civics and history classes, and serves as a model for other ACLU affiliates by making the Bill of Rights come alive for thousands of young people.