Did you know that North Carolina is one of only two states in the country that prosecutes all 16- and 17-year-olds through the adult criminal system, no matter how minor the offense?

FRIDAY AUGUST 6TH – FAST all day* and Rally

11:30am - 1pm

State Building in San Francisco

Bring your music, drums, and poetry or words to share!
* People will be fasting in front of the State Building from 10am- 4pm.

"Because so many are starving for FREEDOM" (from the call by family members of prisoners)

Fast 4 Freedom is a STATEWIDE day of fasting and solidarity actions on Friday, August 6th initiated by family members and loved ones of prisoners locked up across California.  

The Bay Area CURB Alliance will be organizing a rally on August 6th from 11:30am- 1pm at the State Building in San Francisco - 350 McAllister St (at Polk) - where Mark Leno, Senate Public Safety Committee, Tom Ammiano, Assembly Public Safety Committee and Fiona Ma, Assemblywoman from San Francisco, all have their local offices.

Are you going to be fasting? Let us know so we can get an accurate count of fasters! Drop us a line at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

We will be spreading awareness about the many extreme injustices currently faced by prisoners, their families and their communities. Our demands include:

End Three Strikes
Reduce the Prison Population NOW
Release Prisoners Eligible for Parole
Release Sick, Aged and Terminally Ill prisoners
Family Visits for All Prisoners
End the Death Penalty
Education Not Incarceration
Stop All New Prison Construction including New "Mental Health" Cages being built in Chino and Vacaville
Justice for Oscar Grant and all targets of racist police brutality

JOIN US ON TO FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE ON THIS IMPORTANT DATE!

August 6th is also the 65th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and events marking this horrendous date will be occurring around the Bay Area.

CURB ALLIANCE (Member organizations include Critical Resistance, All of Us Or None, Families to Amend California's Three Strikes, California Coalition for Women Prisoners,  Youth Justice Coalition, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, American Friends Service Committee and many more....)

It is imperative that we contact the members of the CJS Subcommittee and ask them to restore juvenile justice appropriations to at least their FY 2002 levels. See suggested talking points below.

Suggested Talking Points:

• Over the last 35 years, we as a nation have learned a lot about what works, and what youth, families and communities truly need, to prevent delinquency in the first instance and respond in effective and age-appropriate ways when it occurs.

During the next 90 days, the U.S. Senate will consider some major pieces of legislation and the Senate needs to hear that they need to be sure that S. 678, the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act reauthorization legislation is on the Senate floor schedule so that it can be voted on this year by the full Senate!

The JJDPA was first enacted in 1974 and provides federal funding to states that comply with a set of best practices aimed at avoiding the detention and incarceration of young people in juvenile and adult facilities.  However, this law is three years overdue for reauthorization! The Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a JJDPA reauthorization bill (S. 678) but it is awaiting action on the Senate floor.  

It's a good law, and is needed now more than ever to end the over-incarceration of young people of color in the justice system and stop the inappropriate use of adult jails for warehousing children charged as adults.  

If you believe that it is urgent to stop putting youth in adult jails and prisons, to end the over-incarceration of youth of color in the justice system, and instead to devote more resources to effective juvenile justice programs such as alternatives to detention and incarceration, contact the Senate now – even if you have contacted your Senators before -- and urge them to put juvenile justice reform on the Senate schedule for a vote!

Actions you can take:

(1) Call: Call your two Senators and urge them to cosponsor S. 678, the JJDPA reauthorization bill, and urge them to contact Majority Leader Harry Reid to urge him to put S. 678 on the Senate schedule for a floor vote as soon as possible.  Let them know you’d like to get a response to your request in writing and provide them with your name and address. Find your Senator here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

(2) Write a Letter: If you would prefer to contact your Senators in writing, click here to send a letter: http://www.change.org/campaign4youthjustice/petitions

(3) Call Media: Contact your local media outlets and urge them to produce a news story on juvenile justice reform and interview your Senators to find out what they are doing to ensure that the JJDPA is voted on by the full Senate as soon as possible. If you would like the BI to assist you in producing a localized media list - contact Shadi Rahimi at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the region needed.

(4) Join: Join the Act 4 Juvenile Justice campaign Fan page.

(5) Share: Spread the word with your friends by sharing this Action Alert!

For additional information including sample letters, visit: www.act4jj.org.