Join us on Monday, July 26, from 6 – 7 p.m. for an interactive virtual discussion moderated by BGA’s Investigative Reporter Sidnee King on Facebook Live. King will be joined by community advocates to discuss the criminalization of Black youth, the issues that affect young Black life in Chicago, and where the solutions are for Black youth involved in carjackings and other crimes considered violent.

Set your reminders to join us on Facebook Live or register for the event through our Eventbrite page.

Panel:

Mark Clements 

In 1981, 16-year-old Mark Clements, confessed under police duress to a crime he did not commit. He became the second Illinois juvenile to be sentenced to natural life without parole, and served 28 years before his conviction was overturned in 2009. He has been employed by the Campaign to End the Death Penalty, National Alliance Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, and for the past three years with Chicago Torture Justice Center. Mark advocates for people and communities impacted as the result of police violence, the abolition of the death penalty and criminal justice reforms.

Ana Mercado

 Ana Mercado is the director of restorative justice at Alternatives, Inc. She has been a restorative justice practitioner, educator and youth organizer for more than 15 years. She also founded the Peace Ambassador apprenticeship and has developed systems and supports for Alternatives to become a model of a restorative workplace.

Miracle Boyd

Miracle Boyd is a youth organizer at GoodKids MadCity, which works to end gun violence and build community resources on Chicago’s South and West sides. She began organizing in 2018 when she and her high school peers protested the closures of four neighborhood schools in Englewood. She studies at DePaul University.