“We must make greater investments towards the success of our boys and young men of color in California. We cannot afford to lead the country in the construction of prisons and fail to properly fund our educational system--to date we have had 22 prisons and one university built in the past 20 years and that isn’t working,” stated Assemblymember Garcia. “The state must change how we do business when it comes to dealing with our youth within the criminal justice system. I am committed in the end to ensuring that every young boy and man of color has every opportunity to reach their upmost potential.”
The Select Committee’s policy priorities to further the success of Boys and Men of Color by:
- Ensuring police reform and accountability
- Implementing Prop 42 equitably
- Promoting safe and successful schools
- Establishing inclusive policies for immigrants
- Advancing equitable school funding
In 2011, the City of Coachella, due to the efforts of former Mayor Eduardo Garcia, launched a series of hearings with the Alliance for Boys and Men of Color to discuss local issues young boys and men of color faced in the Coachella Valley region.
The hearings spurred the community’s interest to improving the quality of life for these young men of color and brought forth a coalition of over 10 community partners, including the Coachella Valley Unified School District (CVUSD), RAICES Cultura, Boys and Girls Club, Latino Commission, and others to ensuring the future success for boys and men of color locally.
The California Assembly’s Select Committee on the Status of Boys and Men of Color was formed in 2012 to respond to the pressing needs of young men of color in California, where 70 percent of youth identify as people of color. In the 2013 session, the Committee continued efforts to advance common sense school discipline, design a more comprehensive approach to school safety, and facilitate the implementation of the local control funding formula to ensure that young men of color can access opportunity in their neighborhoods starting at an early age.
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Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) serves as the Chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy. He represents the 56th district, which comprises the cities and communities of Blythe, Brawley, Bermuda Dunes, Calexico, Calipatria, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, Indio, Mecca, Oasis, North Shore, Salton Sea, Thermal, Thousand Palms, and Westmorland.
