Trayvon Martin Rally Atlanta March 26 2012

Students, Community Members Gather in Atlanta to Protest Trayvon Martin Shooting

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ATLANTA -- Hundreds of Trayvon Martin supporters gathered to chants of “I am Trayvon” in Downtown Atlanta on Monday, exactly one month after the Florida teen was shot and killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer in an Orlando suburb. Bands of student demonstrators, mainly organized by student groups from nearby universities, joined activists, community members and a long list of organizers on the steps of the state capital to call for the arrest of George Zimmerman – the self-appointed neighborhood watch captain who claimed to have shot the 17-year-old in self-defense. “It’s a general issue of justice,” said Richard Hunter, 42, who attended the rally with his nine-year-old son, Matt. “I think we’ve seen that when we get involved things can change,” Hunter said about the importance of getting young people involved in justice issues. “A lot of people sit back and act like nothing is going to happen instead of showing up.

Microsoft Donates Software to Fight Online Child Porn

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Law enforcement agencies will have free access to a new tool developed by Microsoft used to identify, track down and rescue victims of sexual abuse and child pornography. Microsoft and Facebook currently use the software, PhotoDNA, to find, delete and report child pornography online, Information Week reports. PhotoDNA, codeveloped by Microsoft and Dartmouth College professor Hany Farid, identifies images using mathematical “signatures” even if the images have been altered, enabling law enforcement officers to find child porn online and track down and prosecute the creators of the images. The software includes the signatures of 15,000 “worst of the worst” images. Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit released the software and integrated it in to other law enforcement software packages.

Center for Sustainable Journalism is Now Home to Youth Today

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The Center for Sustainable Journalism at Kennesaw State University will begin publishing Youth Today, the nationally distributed newspaper that is read online and in print by thousands of professionals in the youth services field.  “Having Youth Today housed at Kennesaw State University is a perfect fit,” said Ken Harmon, KSU provost. “We have undergraduate and advanced degree programs in compatible areas, including journalism, social work, criminology, conflict management, educational leadership and other health and human sciences, all of which can provide best practice training and research to advance the Youth Today mission.”

Leonard Witt, executive director of the Center for Sustainable Journalism, said the addition of Youth Today to the center’s publishing portfolio is an excellent extension of the work it does. “We now publish the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, JJIE.org, the only entity to cover juvenile justice every day with professional journalists, so this is a natural addition to the work we do,” Witt said. “We will be able to get Youth Today back to its full potential, while expanding the JJIE.org reach at the same time.”

Financial challenges almost led to the demise of the subscription-based newspaper that covers a wide range of issues including juvenile justice, foster care, mentoring, substance abuse, sexual behavior, after school programs, mentoring, youth employment, child welfare, college and careers, gangs, violence prevention, adolescent health, teen pregnancy and parenting.

The Tragic Case of Trayvon Martin and the Danger of Stereotyping

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“This guy looks like he’s up to no good … he looks black,” George Zimmerman told a police dispatcher on Feb. 26, 2011.  Moments later he shot and killed an unarmed, 17-year-old. Trayvon Martin is the latest fatality in the deadly, insidious disease of stereotyping young black males as “dangerous.”

“I will never look suspicious to you, even if I have a black hoodie, a pair of jeans and white sneakers,” wrote Michel Skolnik, who is white, in a commentary about the Trayvon Martin murder. You are right Michel. White young men, no matter how many piercings, how baggy the pants are, tend to be seen as possibly mischievous or youthfully exuberant, but a threat?

ga state house square

Funding for Juvenile Code is Major Concern as Legislature Winds Down

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Wildly divergent estimates of the pricetag for Georgia's proposed juvenile code rewrite continue to swirl around the Capitol as lawmakers return for their last three days of 2012. The 246-page bill has cleared the state House and is expected to come before the full Senate this week, possibly Tuesday, with only minor changes. Gov. Nathan Deal's office continues to crunch the numbers to help him decide whether the state budget can absorb the expense. "We have solid support in the General Assembly, and we are hopeful the governor will support it as well," said Kirsten Widner, lobbyist for the Barton Child Law and Policy Center. "If he's not on board, you can't achieve the goals of the legislation."

Commissioner Announces New Chairman to Head Georgia’s DJJ Board

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Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Gale Buckner confirmed the Board’s election of Avery Niles to head the state’s DJJ Board. Niles fills the Chairman post formerly held by long-time Board member Ed Risler, who stepped down earlier this week following the expiration of his term last summer. Niles, a 23-year veteran of the Hall County Sheriff’s Department and current warden of the Hall County Correctional Institution, was appointed to the Board by Gov. Deal in July 2011. As Chairman, Niles will “help guide Board Members as they serve in their advisory capacity to DJJ, providing leadership and counsel to the Commissioner to help improve Georgia’s juvenile justice system,” according to a DJJ release. “I am honored to serve in this capacity,” Niles said.

Pot-Smoking Teens and a Skirmish Not Worth Fighting in the War on Drugs

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The last time I smoked pot was in 1989. I had been in prison a few years then, and even though I preferred drinking “buck,” marijuana was a lot easier to get. Buck is what we called homemade wine, and it was a pain to make. We had to assemble all of the ingredients, find a place to hide it, and then transport it to the dormitory to drink. We got caught more often than not, and all of our work would go down the drain, literally.