


We Need More Gun Regulation NOW!
by Michael Lawson | Jun 3, 2022 | President Message, Advocacy, Race
In 1966, on the eve of the Summer of Love in San Francisco, the Black Panther Party for Self Defense began as a small community organization. The founders were Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. Under California law, it was legal to carry guns in public as long as the...
Invest in Programs Not Prisons
by Michael Lawson | Dec 11, 2021 | President Message, Education, Education & Training, Race
The United States imprisons more of its population than any other country, and California leads the nation in the number of juveniles kept behind bars. While juvenile incarceration in California has been trending down for decades, the grossly disproportionate rate of...
Prosecutors Need to Take Another Look at Excessive Prison Sentences
by Michael Lawson | Nov 19, 2021 | President Message, Advocacy, Race
California houses the second largest prison population in the United States behind Texas and the largest population of people serving long-term sentences. Due to decades of tough-on-crime policies from over-zealous politicians, some of these long-term sentences are...
Remembering Greenwood
by Michael Lawson | May 29, 2021 | President Message, Race
Monday, May 31, will mark 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre when white vigilantes descended upon Tulsa’s Greenwood District, destroying one of the most affluent and prosperous African American communities in the United States. At 107 years old, Viola...
“We Are Able to Breathe Again”
by Michael Lawson | Apr 24, 2021 | President Message, Advocacy, Race
Guilty on all charges. On April 20, 2021, after 44 witnesses and 15 days of testimony, we held a collective breath while waiting for the jury to render its verdict on Derek Chauvin, the police officer who killed George Floyd by grinding his knee into the back of...