Performing Statistics, a project by Art180 and Legal Aid Justice Center, will host the 4th annual Justice Parade for Youth on Saturday, November 3 to honor the voices of youth affected by the school-to-prison pipeline. The parade is designed to celebrate the incarcerated teens working with Richmond based artists, designers, and educators to change the policies that push teens out of school and into the justice system. 

Each summer, a group of incarcerated youth from the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center’s Post-Dispositional Program leave their detention facility, and come to ART 180’s teen art center, to participate in the Performing Statistics initiative. There they work with artists across Richmond to produce a series of media campaigns and mobile exhibitions that visualize their ideas for a better approach to the justice system. These exhibitions then tour across the state to schools, museums, and public spaces in an effort to spark dialogue about the causes, impacts, and alternatives to the juvenile justice system.

Artists, community activists, faith leaders, families, formerly incarcerated individuals and concerned citizens will gather outside of Hotchkiss Community Center, at 701 E Brookland Park Blvd, at 4 pm to kick off the Justice Parade for Youth. The parade will feature musicians, chants written by youth, community members carrying the youth’s art, and an open opportunity for anyone to speak up for youth who continue to be impacted by the school-to-prison pipeline and juvenile justice system. Participants will be provided signs, posters, and banners. Free t-shirts created by the teens will be given out on a first come, first serve basis on the day of the parade.

The Performing Statistics is part of RISE, a state-wide campaign in support of community alternatives to youth incarceration. To learn more about the Performing Statistics program, visit www.performingstatistics.org. To learn more about the Justice Parade for Youth, visit www.art180.org/justiceparade.