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"Throughout history it has
been the inaction of those who could have
acted, the indifference of those who should have known
better,and the silence of the voice of justice when it
mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to
triumph"
H.I.M. Haile Selassie |
Established in 2005, the JRC is a citizen's civil and legal oversight and advocacy organization. Working with victims of the system to get them justice in their individual cases. Challenging the courts and their officials, standing up to law enforcement, helping citizens to hold officials accountable, working with other progressive organizations, and the training and support of community advocates, has made our past nineteen years full. This has made us stronger, more capable and more focussed on our goal of equal rights and justice for all.
We are proud of our advocates and activists and the work they do together. Because that is the JRC. Using our resources, learning experience, and strength, to be able to stand up and assert our rights together for ourselves and our communities, to bring "EQUAL RIGHTS AND JUSTICE FOR ALL".
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JRC ON FACEBOOK 
PAGE https://www.facebook.com/jrcsac
Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/300432338775/
Friend https://www.facebook.com/justicereformcoalition
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyZRGAQOGVlD7HG0_gx9N3w
JRC NEWS MEDIA
For years we've thought, wouldn't it be great if we could get some journalist or news agency to really investigate our cases, and work along with us to really put a public spotlight on the crimes being committed by government agencies and officials under the color of law. But what would be even better is if we built and sponsored our own alternative, investigative news agency dedicated to doing just that. SO, that's what we decided to do. Thus was born the new JRC NEWS MEDIA GROUP aka JRC NEWS.
In it you will find the writings, thoughts, and opinions of the activists and advocates of the JRC and our collaborators. You will also find action updates on current and future projects, activities, and cases of the JRC, as well as our research on various issues we advocate for.
It is now under reconstruction and will return soon.
We have formed the Momma Justice Committee (MJC), chaired by Laura Byrd, an awesome community advocate for many years.She is an experienced knowledgeable, kind, compassionate, and a no nonsense advocate.Not afraid to question or stand up to authority.
This committee is tasked with several important functions of the JRC. First, this is the main place for the community to interact and make contact with us, as well as doing our community outreach.They work with people, and their families, to help them understand and navigate the legal process, know their rights, and coordinate plans and actions to help address and resolve their issue.
The MJC has taken on the functions of our medical advocacy group. The JRC advocates for medical patient rights and address medical malfeasance. Especially concentrating on abuse of incarcerated and institutionalized individuals. The JRC has been addressing the abuse of mentally and emotionally challenged people in State facilities. Because of the closing of most of the State mental facilities since the Eighties, most folks with mental dysfunction who commit or are accused of commiting a crime or have or have had an episode requiring EMT or law enforcement intervention and committed for "mental" reasons end up in prisons even if they haven't committed a crime.
JRC Meets With CA DSH
On 4/8/2022 the JRC had its first meeting with CA DSH, a two and a half year process. We addressed their systemic issues and the incredibly poor treatment of their charges weather criminally charged or not. These are some of the most corrupt, abusive folks we've had to deal with. The State Hospital system in Califormia is a quagmire of purposefully broken spirits never being allowed to heal, in order to keep the sytem of abuse going and the funds rolling in. We've managed to free a few people, but the powers that be seem to only be interested in protecting the status-quo and turning a blind eye to its problem.
SInce 2020 the JRC has been called upon by family members and attorneys of citizens unfairly encarcrated, for help in getting them released. Many of these inmates are victims of law enforcement and prosecutorial misconduct. Many have been unjustly convicted or given much longer sentences than they should have or their offenses diserved. The abuse and retaliation they received for advocating for their rights is appaling, but typical of our injustice system. Pysically and mentally abused, being held longer than they ever should have been, these people are languishing behind bars without proper due process. There are thousands of people like them, languishing in these prisons and State hospitals here in California. Many of whom, never should have been placed there. But, they are people of color, especially Black and Brown, and or poor. We have successfully garnered the release of 10 people over the years. It is a hard but rewarding experience when we are successful. Our work in this area continues. Once they are released, the JRC continues to monitor their progress and help with the issues that formerly incarcerated folks face in this unforgiving society.
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There is too much hate in the world these days. Hatred propagated by the powers that be and insecure folks whose need to feel as though they are better than someone else and have power over them. Add to that, unabated greed, corruption, and the increase of ignorance and hate fueled by political powers and agendas, plus War and rumors of war all around the world; In Ukraine and Russia, in Yemen, in Palestine and Israel, in the Sudan , in Haiti, and more, all bringing us closer to a world which could destroy humanity.
In the U.S., homelessness is at an all-time high. Our whole Nation suffers from PTSD. Suicides and depression, already at record levels, are increasing among all demographics. High drug overdoses and abuse riddle our populace despite draconian drug laws and policies. Life expectancy is decreasing. 70% of our nation can’t afford their medical care when they have it. Environmental catastrophes due to global warming are increasing in number, frequency, and magnitude. Racial animus has seen a sharp incline, especially in the United States. Economic disparity, the like of which we’ve not seen since the “Gilded Age” (post-Civil War to the early 1900’s), makes life for most people far harder than past generations and getting worse. Corporations and the military industrial complex control politics and politicians, creating and adding to the breakdown of public trust and the cohesion of our society. All these things were predicted in the late sixties and early seventies by the “Love Generation” as the consequences of not promoting love in all we do and are the direct result of the lack of love in how we deal with each other and the world.
As one who was part of it, I remember the “LOVE GENERATION” of the sixties and early seventies. That moniker applied to a distinct small but influential segment of the young people of the day. We changed the world. The mantra of our generation, “All You need is love”, was forever enshrined by the Beatles in song. It was so obvious to us that if you truly love something or someone, you couldn’t, wouldn’t, and shouldn’t mistreat it or them. That you should only treat the world and the life on it with love and respect, the way you want to be treated. We believed that the earth was our mother.
Because we had been told from an early age that “God is Love”, it was only natural that this time would also be a time of spiritual and social awakening. We were the generation of social change. The culture and attitudes we embodied drove the civil rights, education, anti-war, gender, and environmental movements. It began the change of/in the way we see each other, the world, health, the environment, and the need for spirituality in one’s life. As the group, Fifth Dimension, would sing, it was “the dawning of the age of Aquarius”.
It was a worldwide movement, that struck at the very heart of the ruling class power elite and their control. It brought together people of all kinds and persuasions, many who had never thought they had or would ever have anything in common, and it was spreading like wildfire. It was a direct affront to the status quo, and the normal modes of suppression were not working; only causing it to spread. So, the powers that be decided to coopt it, and turn it into a caricature of what it was in the eyes of the public to make it look like a fad, and its proponents look like kooks. So, they began infiltrating and spreading negativity, causing disillusionment to the sense of unity and comradery of the movement. Eventually subverting, and submerging the movement in the public eye, the powers that be buried the movement and the message. Out of sight, out of mind: so, they thought. They took the focus of Love out of the movement and out of the world. Then they doubled down on focusing the world on things that would divide us, pit us against each other thus making us easier to control and manage. The state of the world today is a direct result of this.
But the seed had been planted deep, waiting for a new time and generations to mature grow and come back to life. Many of us carried these ideals and ideas into our personal lives where they were nurtured and matured along with us waiting for the reawakening of the generations to happen. So, underground it grew, spreading quietly, like a weed. Like most weeds, this one is medicinally beneficial to humanity. Extending its tendrils, popping up from time to time to test whether it was a good environment to grow and bloom or not, slowly inspiring new generations and building fertile ground in the minds and hearts of those generations as they watched what not having “a little bit of love in your heart”, has done to our world, and they and their descendant’s futures.
However, slowly but surely the fertile ground has grown, and now a deeply rooted movement has a massive amount of area to grow and bloom, and that’s what it’s doing. Everywhere, people are beginning to speak about love being the needed missing energy to help solve the world’s ills. This recalls the words of the Dionne Warwick classic; “what the world needs now is love sweet love Not just for some, but for everyone”. All sorts of folks from all walks of life are speaking about it, writing about it, and singing about it. The focus and message of the “Love Generation” returns and is growing. No longer a small group of idealistic kids, but a massive number of people wanting better for our world and the life on it. Even the NFL has the “Choose Love” moniker on their goal posts and helmets.
That’s why now is the time for the rebirth of the “Love Generation”, and our “Turn Hate to Love” campaign. A campaign to bring together and focus the energy of that massive, to bring national and international attention to, and influence of love back to the people and the culture.
To accomplish this, we are planning activities and events to bring together this massive to propel this movement for Peace, Love, Health, and Happy-ness. We will raise funds to support organizations and individuals involved with and focused on spreading “Peace, Love, Health, and Happy-ness” in its many forms. Already we have a great new theme song from reggae artist, Vinny Taylor. We are also beginning to get commitment from other major artists, internet influencers, and organizations, to do gatherings worldwide as a platform for focusing the attention and consciousness of the world on this people’s movement focused on spreading “Peace, Love, Health, and Happy-ness”.
To start, we are organizing the “Turn Hate 2 Love Tour©”. This tour will be the flagship of the movement. Artists are the purveyors of culture and the social voice and attitudes of the people. The problem today is that that connection has been largely severed by the corporations and powers that be who control the media, hope, dreams, and culture around the world. Our goal is to allow the cultural voices calling for understanding, peace, love, health, and happiness, to come together and combine their voices and energy to change the paradigm of hate, to love. We want to bring back forward the participation of artists to use their platforms worldwide to bring the reality of the need for this movement to generations that are waiting and wanting this change.
This was something the late great Harry Belafonte saw as necessary to the struggle but sorely missing in these times. Which is why he started Sankofa. Sankofa is the artist collective founded by the late Harry Belafonte, as a means of bringing artists together to support the movements for social justice. In the words of Sankofa;
“The tradition of activism among America’s artistic and cultural leaders goes back to the early days of social justice movements. In 1939, Marion Anderson staged a defiant outdoor concert at the Lincoln Memorial, having been barred from Constitution Hall on account of her race. Paul Robeson, one of America’s most prominent African American actors in the 40’s, spoke openly for equality and encouraged his peers to do the same. “The artist must elect to fight for freedom or for slavery” he said, “I have made my choice.” The 1960’s ushered in a wave of artist-activists, from Joan Baez to Harry Belafonte to Bob Dylan. In the 1970’s there was Marvin Gaye to Bob Marley, whose politically charged work added cultural resonance to the words and actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and other social justice leaders.
More recently in the 1980’s, Michael Jackson, and Lionel Richie along with dozens of other artists staged “We Are the World,” conceived by Harry Belafonte, which delivered powerful testament to the power of artists to drive attention, resources, and action towards the world’s injustices. Artists such as Stevie Wonder, The Dixie Chicks, Alicia Keys, Public Enemy and Macklemore have carried this same spirit of progressive change into the present day. Artists and performers are in a unique position to shape our society's cultural and moral destiny - to cast light on pressing issues and to use their creative gifts to inspire action. When they use their platform to speak up on matters of political and social urgency, the impact is profound and lasting.”From Sankofa website
The “Turn Hate 2 Love Tour©” will feature Rasta reggae artist Vinny Taylor, who did the theme song, and will host and perform on the tour. As a Rasta, Vinny is committed to the need for this movement for love and is excited to be able to bring the Rasta message of Love to the people. Each date will bring prominent artists to join him and the other folks on the tour to bring the waiting generations of people to this movement for love. In addition, we will connect with and present local “Love Generation” advocates and organizations, always pushing the fact that “All You Need Is Love”.
Love is the answer. It may seem quaint and naive, but it is true. If we do things with true love in our hearts, there is no limit to how much better we can make our world. This campaign is just the start. Will you join us and make a better world. Turn Hate to Love.
Peace, Love, Health, and Happy-ness,
If you'd like to help or be a part of the building of the campaign contact us at:
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We are calling for massive reform of CPS or for them to voluntarily close down pending an investigation into their patterns and practices.
The coalition is addressing the egregious actions habitually taken by CPS and the Family Courts for years in taking children from their families without merit and justification, the abuse of children while in the hands of CPS, the murder of numerous children due to CPS failure of oversight and accountability, and much more.
The Justice Reform Coalition’s Executive Director, Rev. Ashiya Odeye’ says: “For far too long, CPS has terrorized numerous families with their kidnapping of children. CPS workers lying, making false claims of abuse, manufacturing false and minipulated accusatory documents against the parent, losing, ignoring, and disallowing factual documents and evidence favoring the parent, accusing parents of negligence and harm towards their children, holding secret collusive meetings with officials prior to an accused parent’s hearing in court, and more. There is no transparency, no oversight and no accountability throughout this process", said Rev. Odeye’. "Families and children are at the mercy of these corrupt and wilful officials, with the complicity of the courts. CPS was supposed to help families and children, not destroy them. Trafficking in our children for profit and contro seems to be their major goal.”
OUR PLATFORM
We have put together a platform with other advocates and organizations to begin to address community concerns and the lack of any oversite in this matter. Read It Here
JRC - CPS & FAMILY COURT GROUP
Our CPS & Family Court group has been working quietly and not so quietly to enfluence changes in the CPS/Family Court system. READ MORE HERE
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Homelessness is growing at an epidemic rate in this country, and California is leading the way. Even though the state has put billions of dollars toward the issue, the problem continues to grow. With this amount of money in play, a whole industry has grown with it. Instead of giving direct assistance to the people affected, the money is given to government agencies and a whole slew of so-called homeless and housing agencies as go betweens that eek out enough funds to make it look like they do something, but fail miserably to help people truly gain a foothold, only to watch those people ultimately return to a homeless condition as these agencies and the so-called service agencies they're in league with, line their coffers. Then, when they are questioned about the failure, they blame it on the people. We call it the homeless industrial complex. Like all the industrial complexes in this country, they fail to serve or show concern, or compassion for the public.
In truth, the state could have given every homeless or poor person in the state a $100,000 or more, and more effectively eliminated homelessness and poverty in the state, and spent far less money than $9.3 billion it's spent in the last three years.
The JRC has been asissting the homeless since the days of the Occupy Movement. Over the past three years we have been watching Sacramento County's homeless efforts fizzle into fraud and failure. Over the past year we have been questioning authorities about the operation of the County homeless progarms with no real satisfactory replies. So, we will continue to press them and do our own investigation.
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JRC EDUCATION ADVOCACY
Education advocacy has been a part of the JRC since its inception.JRC has been a staunch proponent of students rights and educational reform. Especially as it pertains to the failure of the school districts to competently and equally educate Black, Brown, and special needs youth. During that time, we've been focused on the failure of the school districts to be accountable for these failures and their terrible lack of fiduciary responsibility and ability to truthfully and adequately document their adherence to their directives which requires them to focus on the unequal education of Black, Brown, and special needs students, as they are obligated to, because they receive government funding. We've questioned at all levels of education administration and government. Filing complaint after complaint, review after review, document request after document request. Having the U.S Department of Justice Education Division( pre Trump), agree with our assesments, giving us the right to sue and instructing various school districts to cooperate with our inquiries. Districts promising to do better. Still we have seen little or no movement towards equity and equality. In fact, in many instances things are worse, with no voluntary movement towards change.
We are now ready to move to the next phase, which is to educate the community and to publicly challenge the school districts in Federal Court, and in the public eye.
***If this is of concern to you, and you have the passion, come join us. ***
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"Throughout history it has
been the inaction of those who could have
acted, the indifference of those who should have known
better,and the silence of the voice of justice when it
mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to
triumph"
H.I.M. Haile Selassie |