This week, as we commemorate Juneteenth, the day that enslaved Black people in Galveston Bay, Texas, first learned that they were legally free, we reflect on our continuing work to end slavery’s racially disparate legacy that persists in our youth justice system.
On “Freedom’s Eve,” January 1, 1863, Black people gathered in churches around the country awaiting news of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, for many in Confederate territory, justice would be delayed. For Texas’ over 250,000 enslaved Black people, justice would not come until June 19, 1865, when union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, bringing the news that they were free by executive decree. While Juneteenth remains a day of great joy, it is also a sober reminder that justice delayed is justice denied.
Today, there are over 600 children incarcerated in Texas’ youth prisons and detention centers, the majority being Black and Brown youth. Black youth comprise 11% of Texas’ youth population but represent 24% of commitments to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD). White, Hispanic, and other race youth comprise the remaining 89% of Texas’ overall youth population but represent 31%, 51%, and 7% of TJJD commitments, respectively. Texas’ youth prisons remain racially disparate and unsafe and are long overdue for closure.
In 2023, Finish the 5 worked with Texas House Representative James Talarico to bring HB 4356 to the Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee, where many came out supporting the idea of closing Texas’ youth prisons by 2030. The next legislative session, Finish the 5 will continue to raise awareness about the inhumane conditions and immoral practice of incarcerating children and the importance of creating wrap-around resources for youth.
Texas is not an outlier; despite decades of advancements from movements for civil rights, the US still incarcerates over 40,000+ children annually, from Maryland to Louisiana we continue to see rollbacks in previous juvenile justice reforms, and Black youth nationally are still 5x more likely to be incarcerated than their white peers for similar offenses.
We at the Youth First Justice Collaborative are humbled by the tireless efforts of the youth organizers in Texas’ “Finish the 5” campaign. Their steadfast and inspiring efforts remind us that just like on that first bright, emancipatory June day in Galveston Bay, Texas, our collective work to close youth prisons can be both a source of optimism and a reminder of the work ahead of us. This Juneteenth we are reminded of not only what we are fighting against, but what we are fighting for; transformative justice and a lasting liberation for all youth.
