Take Action

If Bryan Stevenson’s book inspired you to take action, check out some of these opportunities to make positive change:

Campus Organizations

The Underground Scholars Initiative (USI) is a student group at UC Berkeley that supports all current and prospective students affected by mass incarceration, imprisonment, and involuntary detainment of any kind. One of its defining goals is to ground the academic study of mass incarceration in the lived experiences of UC Berkeley students. USI is also working as a catalyst for the development of a Prison-to-School pipeline within the University of California. If you would like to get involved in USI, start by checking out its website.

Get On The Bus is a program of The Center for Restorative Justice Works, a non profit organization that unites children, families and communities separated by crime and the criminal justice system throughout California.  

Teach in Prison is a student-run DeCal class that sends Cal student tutors to work with inmates at San Quentin Prison.

The Restorative Justice Center provides partners with a variety of organizations and courses across campus and in the Bay Area to provide students with field experience in restoratice justice, and offers trainings and restorative circles to strengthen community. 

Rooted in the 1999 Ethnic Studies Strike and Agreement, the Multicultural Community Center has had a dynamic history of struggle, student-visioning and vibrant programming in the decade since. Today, the MCC exists as a multipurpose community center where you will find people studying, meeting, engaging in critical dialogue and taking part in various student and community programming. Student internship opportunities are available. 

Beyond the Campus

Prisoners with Children is a grassroots civil and human rights organization fighting for the rights of formerly- and currently- incarcerated people and our families. This organization has partnered with the campus on some of its initiatives.

JusticeCorps provides great opportunities for students who want to gain experience working in law serving low-income communities. 

The Ella Baker Center works locally, statewide, and nationally to end mass incarceration and criminalization. It provides advocacy and organizing on issues of mass incarceration, criminal justice, and civil rights, with a focus on building power among poor people and people of color. Co-founded by civil rights leader Van Jones.

The ACLU of Northern California  works on racial justice, criminal justice, death penalty and school-to-prison pipeline, among many other equity and justice issues. Check out this organization’s Get Involved page. 

Black Lives Matter: This is the central website for the BLM movement. Describes core principles, frameworks and values of the movement, and offers links to events, local chapters (there’s one in the Bay Area), and a great blog.

The RYSE Center is a youth center in Richmond that has worked with UC Berkeley’s ACES program. Its Youth Justice program is especially relevant to this year’s theme: it focuses on support and advocacy for youth in the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems.

Community Works West works to interrupt and heal the impacts of incarceration and violence by empowering individuals, families and communities. It focuses on programs in the jails and community, youth-led advocacy efforts, and public exhibits and performances, with a substantial focus on youth. See this page for jobs and volunteer opportunities. 

The Reset Foundation identifies promising young people trapped in the cycles of poverty, court-involvement, and unemployment, and offers them a high-quality residential program, where they learn to work, study, and live in healthy ways.