COVID-19 and the Birth-To-Prison Pipeline

COVID-19 has illuminated and magnified existing inequities in education in historically underserved communities of color in New York City. The pandemic has showcased the absence of support networks to assist with remote learning for students at home, childcare for parents who were essential workers during the crisis, and access to meals for students no longer at school.

How are legislators and community organizations working to address this crisis? And how is the immediate crisis connected to longstanding, deeply rooted systems of oppression that deprive low-income communities-of-color of resources, creating a phenomenon some refer to as the “Birth to Prison Pipeline”?

Join The Fortune Society’s Policy Center Collective for a conversation about the Birth-to-Prison Pipeline through the lens of the COVID-19 pandemic, and learn about strategies to resource our communities and support our youth before they enter any pipeline of criminalization.

PANELISTS:

· Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, District 35, NY

· Camara Jackson, Founder, Elite Learners, Inc.

· Dr. Ronald Day, VP of Programs, The Fortune Society

MODERATOR:

Brittany Smith, Senior Director of Education and Training, The Fortune Society