#JailBedDrop Reminds Angelinos of Those Incarcerated During Holiday Season
Twas’ the morning before Christmas and JusticeLA and L.A. area artists collaborated to place over 50 jail beds throughout L.A. County as a reminder of the thousands of people incarcerated in L.A. County jails during the holiday season. Kicking off #JailBedDrop, JusticeLA co-founder Patrisse Cullors joined new media artist Jasmine Nyende in the historic Los Angeles African American community of Baldwin Hills at the intersection of Crenshaw and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvds. in an effort to remind Angelinos getting in their last day of shopping before the Christmas holiday that for millions of people in America and thousands in L.A. County, Christmas will be spent in a jail cell and without their families loved ones simply because they are poor and cannot afford the high cost of bail. The jail beds are also being used to further the conversation around the County’s decision to invest $3.5 billion dollars into expanding the world’s largest jail system instead of community-based alternatives to incarceration.
“Los Angeles County is embarking on one of the largest jail construction projects in the history of jails and prisons,” said JusticeLA co-founder Patrisse Cullors. “JusticeLA has come together in our latest art action to highlight those who are most impacted by incarceration over the holidays. This holiday season millions of incarcerated people won’t see loved ones, enjoy a holiday dinner with family or spend time with their children. Instead they will sit in a jail cell. This jail bed action is to reminder to all of this holiday season about what we should be investing in and that is community-based alternatives to jails that keep families together.”
JusticeLA advocates for funding to go into community-based alternatives and not jails to address the communities with the highest rates of imprisonment. Those communities tend to be primarily poor and working class communities of color that are also disproportionately high in unemployment, home foreclosures, school cutbacks, inadequate access to healthcare and lower-than- average life expectancies.
New media artist Jasmine Nyende added, “This project is about showing love and compassion to my family. Our community has been separated, caged and sold off for generations. I hope this bed inspires people to write and think of their loved ones in prison or jail.”
In addition to Baldwin Hills, jail beds were placed in over 50 other locations by local artists throughout Los Angeles County including Inglewood, Compton, Palmdale, Lancaster, San Fernando Valley, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Manhattan Beach. Each artist worked with different topics around incarceration including mental illness, women, People of Color, youth, LGBTQ and more.
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“This project provided a way for me to express my feelings about the prison industrial complex from the perspective of a loved one,” explained Cole James, one of of the featured artists whose jail bed is on display in Carson at the South Bay Pavillion. “The loss, longing and destruction caused by the system of penitentiaries extends far beyond their bars. It is shredding the happiness of families.”
Artist Qwazi added, “My brother is an inmate at Wasco State Prison. A brother’s bond is unexplainable, but the distance set between us is fully tangible. The thin glass that separates our conversation is endless and the anxiety of it gets the best of both of us. His children will be teenagers the next time they hold and hug their father and I will be in my 40’s when I can finally have a beer with my brother. I am not proud of the reasons for which he is there, but I do know he needs rehab instead of incarceration. I fear he will lose his humanity and loving heart in a place so lonely and dark. My feelings of helplessness grow daily and my heart has been heavy since the day he was arrested. This was an opportunity for me to express the oppression which has been laid upon my brother and myself.”
Qwazi’s jail bed will be on display in South Gate at the Azalea Regional Shopping Center.
Alabama native, Ciara Green is a self-taught artist and a business owner who fosters her craft in Los Angeles. Her brother Dewey has been wrongfully serving a sentence of life without parole at Smith State Prison in Georgia since 2015. During his time there he has written her many letters of which excerpts have been taken to be used as a part of her jail bed project on display in Beverly Hills. Ciara says the words that are harsh and painful to read, but it is the reality of those who are incarcerated.
“This bed represents an innocent man in prison,” said Ciara Green. “A man who is serving a life without parole sentence for having a seizure while driving and accidentally killing someone. This bed represents our justice system in America failing us. This bed represents a man who at the age of 23 had his entire life stolen from him because of a medical condition. This bed represents my brother. This bed represents the lives who have been wrongfully incarcerated.”
In L.A. County, 40 percent of female inmates are Latino while 32 percent are Black. The men’s facilities’ population is currently 50% Latino and 30% Black – over 80% people of color. While Black people make up less than 9% of L.A. County’s population, they are almost a third of the county jail population. The most impacted districts in L.A. County are Districts 1 & 2 represented by Supervisors Hilda Solis and Mark Ridley-Thomas and encompassing the larger areas of East L.A. and South L.A.—neighborhoods that are predominantly low-income/working class, migrant, Black and Latino. More than half of those imprisoned have not been convicted of a crime and cannot afford bail.
In September, JusticeLA launched their campaign to fight back against the L.A. County Board of Supervisors plan to spend $3.5 billion on jail construction and expansion by coordinating the largest display of jail beds ever used in a demonstration when the set up 100 jail beds in the middle of downtown Los Angeles.
To follow and see all of the artists and their jail beds on display Christmas Eve, follow @JusticeLANow on social media and the hashtag #jailbeddrop.
Locations (in alphabetical order by City)
Agoura Hills
Whizin Market Square
28914 Roadside Dr, Agoura Hills
Artist: Bea Lamar
Alhambra
Alhambra Place
100 East Main St., Alhambra
Artist: Maytha Alhassen
Arcadia
LGBT Center of San Gabriel
2607 S Santa Anita Ave., Arcadia
Artist: David Chen
Arcadia
Westfield Santa Anita
400 S Baldwin Ave., Arcadia
Artist: Ana Carolina Estarita Guerrero (as Guadalupe Bermúdez)
Azusa
Edgewood Shopping Center
153 E Gladstone St., Azusa
Artist: Micol Hebron
Baldwin Park
Police Station
14403 Pacific Ave., Baldwin Park
Artist: Kevin Flores
Bell
Bell Shopping Center
5029 E Florence Ave., Bell
Artist: Brandon Thomas
Bellflower
Intersection of Bellflower Blvd. and Belmont St.
Artist: Cinthia Marisol Lozano
Beverly Hills
Rodeo Drive and Dayton Way
Artist: Ciara Green
Boyle Heights
Mariachi Plaza
730 Pleasant Ave, Boyle Heights
Artists: Brittany Estrada and Nelly Zagury
Calabasas
Calabasas Commons
4799 Commons Way, Calabasas
Artist: Bea Lamar
Carson
South Bay Pavilion
Near Target
20700 S Avalon Blvd., Carson
Artist: Cole James
Cerritos
Cerritos Station – Sheriff’s Department
18135 Bloomfield Ave, Cerritos
Artist: Julio Trejo
Compton
Intersection of Willowbrook Ave. and Compton Blvd.
Artist: Ana Ruth Castillo
Culver City
Veterans Memorial Park
4177 Overland Ave., Culver City
Artist: Josh Sugiyama
Downey
Stonewood Mall
251 Stonewood St., Downey
Artist: Mariella Saba
Downtown Los Angeles
Main St. between Temple St. and Aliso St.
Artist: Kim Robertson
Downtown Los Angeles
Fig and 7th
Artist: Matt Miyahara
Downtown Los Angeles
Little Tokyo
2nd St. and San Pedro Ave.
Artist: Tazer
Downtown Los Angeles
Little Tokyo Galleria
333 S Alameda St.
Artist: Alan Glover
Downtown Los Angeles
Twin Towers Correctional Facility
450 Bauchet St, Los Angeles
Artist: Giancarlos Campos
El Monte
Intersection of Santa Anita and Valley
Artist: Martina Aguilar
Glendora
Lone Hill Shopping Center
1836 E Rte 66 Glendora
Artist: Shannon Pollak
Hawthorne
Intersection of Hawthorne Blvd. and El Segundo Blvd.
Artist: Michael Massenburg
Hermosa Beach
Plaza Hermosa
715 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach
Artist: Anna Evans-Goldstein
Hollywood
Hollywood United Methodist Church
6817 Franklin Ave, Hollywood
Artist: Anna Mkhikian
Huntington Park
Intersection of Pacific Blvd. and Gage Ave.
Artist: Austin Fenton
Inglewood
Inglewood Park Cemetery
720 E Florence Ave., Inglewood
Artist: Tyler Hicks
Inglewood
Intersection of Crenshaw Blvd. and Century Blvd.
Artist: Rosie Shields
Lakewood
Lakewood Mall
500 Lakewood Center Mall, Lakewood
Artist: Ayesha Waraich
Lancaster
Mira Loma Detention Center
45100 60th St W, Lancaster
Artist: Michelle Navarrete
Larchmont
Larchmont Ave. between 1st St. and Beverly Blvd.
Artist: Dwora Fried
Lawndale
Alondra Park
850 W. Manhattan Beach Blvd., Lawndale
Artist: Tracee Johnson
Lincoln Heights
Former Lincoln Heights Jail
421 N Ave 19, Lincoln Heights
Artist: Gabriel Gutierrez
Long Beach
Long Beach Pike
95 S Pine Ave., Long Beach
Artist: Joe Miramontes
Los Angeles – South
Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mall
3650 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Baldwin Hills
Artist: Jasmine Nyende
Los Angeles – UCLA
Franklin D. Murphy Sculpture Garden – Hammer Museum
UCLA
245 Charles E Young Dr E, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Artists: Isabella and Ben
Los Angeles – Westside
Beverly Center
Beverly and La Cienega
Artist: Andre Simmons
Lynwood
Plaza Mexico
3100 E Imperial Hwy., Lynwood
Artists: Marlene Tafoya and Cindy Vallejo
Malibu
Malibu Country Mart
3835 Cross Creek Rd, Malibu
Artist: Todd Bank
Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Village Shopping Center
3200 N Sepulveda Blvd., Manhattan Beach
Artist: Brianna Mims
Monrovia
Monrovia Shopping Center
300 W Huntington Dr., Monrovia
Artist: Yasamin Safarzadeh
Montebello
Montebello Mall
2134 Montebello Town Center, Montebello
Artist: Joel Garcia
Norwalk
Norwalk Town Square
11633 The Plaza, Norwalk
Artist: Aida Ghorbani
Palmdale
Antelope Valley Mall
1233 Rancho Vista Blvd., Palmdale
Artist: Samuel Mokelu
Paramount
Paramount Park Plaza Shopping Center
8540 Alondra Blvd., Paramount
Artist: Gloria Sanchez
Pasadena
Paseo Colorado
300 E Colorado Blvd., Pasadena
Artists: Tim and Rachel
Rancho Palos Verdes
Beachside
Artists: Asli Semizoglu and Asli Tusavul
Redondo Beach
South Bay Galleria
1815 Hawthorne Blvd., Redondo Beach
Artist: Maya Mackrandilal
Rosemead
Rosemead Place Shopping Center
3500 Rosemead Blvd., Rosemead
Artist: Mark x Farina
San Fernando
San Fernando Mall
1021 San Fernando Rd., San Fernando
Artist: Irina Contreras
San Fernando
Intersection of San Fernando Rd at Magnolia Ave.
Artist: Sheila Pinkel
Santa Clarita
The Plaza at Golden Valley
19001-19415 Golden Valley Rd., Santa Clarita
Artist: Joe Galarza
Santa Monica
Third Street Promenade
Downtown Santa Monica
Artist: Claudia Borgna
South Gate
Azalea Regional Shopping Center
4635 Firestone Blvd., South Gate
Artist: Qwazi
South Pasadena
Main Shopping Street near Gold line station
Artist: Mary-Linn and Reginald
Torrance
Del Amo Fashion Center
3525 W Carson St., Torrance
Artist: Kingsley Ume
Westlake Village
Village at Westlake
Artist: Todd Bank
West Covina
West Covina Mall
112 Plaza Dr., West Covina
Artist: Graciela Lopez
West Hollywood
Melrose and Crescent Heights, West Hollywood
Artist: Chandra Anderson
Whittier
Quad at Whittier
13502 Whittier Blvd., Whittier
Artist: Andrea Castillo
Follow @JusticeLANow and #JailBedDrop on Social Media for the latest