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giveabeat · 7 years

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Give a Beat Returns to West Coast Weekender to Host Panel

Give a Beat participates in another fantastic year at West Coast Weekender by hosting the panel “Give a Beat! Change the System!” alongside DJs and social justice activists.

“Give a Beat, Change the System!” Panel. Photo by Diva Hammad

By Julia Bistriceanu, Give a Beat Social Media Team Member

Give a Beat enjoyed another wonderful year at San Diego’s music, art, and culture festival, West Coast Weekender. The second annual event featured renowned artists Mark Farina, Oliver Dollar, LTG Bukem, Walker & Royce, Marques Wyatt and many more! Part music conference, part boutique festival, West Coast Weekender brings together leaders in the industry and fans of the west coast underground dance scene.

Apart from enjoying the fantastic dance music at the event, Give a Beat hosted a panel called “Give a Beat! Change the System!” We were joined by a diverse and inspiring group of people including: Rich Medina, Stacy Kidd, Rescue Poetix, Morgan Humphrey of Drug Policy Alliance, Jeremy Stock of The California Innocence Project, and Joey Nunez Estrada Jr.

Photo by Diva Hammad

The discussion focused on how the nation’s criminal justice system, fueled by the drug war, is in desperate need of complete reform and overhaul. People of color, particularly African Americans and Latinos, are unfairly targeted by the police and face harsher prison sentences than their white counterparts. Morgan Humphrey of the Drug Policy Alliance spoke about the racist history of drug laws and the criminal justice system that were created specifically to target people of color.

“We can’t have this conversation, can’t talk about mass incarceration, we can’t talk about the war on drugs, we can’t talk about people who are being wrongfully convicted, without recognizing the racist model that has been in place,” Humphrey said.

Furthermore, in a state that just voted to keep the death penalty on the books, there are potentially thousands of innocent people serving time. Jeremy Stock of The California Innocence Project contends that between 2 to 5 percent of people locked up in the criminal justice system are innocent. With the staggering amount of people incarcerated in the United States, this amounts to up to 111,000 people wrongly prosecuted. This should be the gravest of all concerns. Prosecutorial misconduct, coerced false confessions, and flimsy "evidence" allows for way too many innocent people to be living their worst nightmares. People are forced to choose between plea bargains that convict them as a felon, but receive little time in jail or facing a jury and potentially receiving 30+ years in prison. It is estimated that around 97% of people in jail choose plea bargains over trials, even if they are completely innocent!

Not only could the money spent on mass incarceration—$80 billion in 2010—be put to better use, but the consequences for people who become entangled in the criminal justice system are also lifelong. These plea bargains that result in felony conviction have a huge impact on those individuals’ futures after they have been released from prison; the felony convictions bar them from receiving housing, student loans, child custody, and employment.

Photo by Diva Hammad

In the second half of the panel, the panelists focused on solutions and realistic avenues to actionable change. In a time when an increasing number of schools are focusing on zero tolerance policies and increases in suspension & expulsion for our youth of color, we are faced with a “push out” not dropout rate crisis. Students who have a suspension or an expulsion face a 30% increase in chance of being incarcerated. Much of the youth that face these consequences comes from a history of trauma and many have already experienced first hand the grips of the penal system in their communities. By focusing on youth, the cycle of mass incarceration and school to prison pipeline can be stopped before it has a chance to begin.

It’s crucial that youth have an opportunity to express themselves and heal from their trauma through positive pathways. Give a Beat’s experiences in the communities and juvenile halls are extremely telling of this need for positive self expression. Lauren Segal reflects on the DJ workshop help at Camp Kirby Juvenile Hall and the change in attitude and increase in confidence she saw after just one hour. In addition to focusing on our youth, it is crucial to understand the power of the consumer. As consumers we have the power to influence companies to divest from companies that use prison labor and encourage others to be socially responsible in their consumer choices!

Give a Beat would like to give a huge thank you to the West Coast Weekender and the amazing panelists that GIVE A BEAT! Check out the entire discussion on iTunes!

#criminal justice reform #juvenile justice #endmassincarceration #youthjustice #californiainnocenceproject #drug policy alliance #westcoastweekender #giveabeat

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