September 6, 2006

Statewide summit on gangs to be
held at Sacramento State

A day-long statewide summit about the civil rights and social justice implications of “gang injunctions” will be held at Sacramento State on Saturday, Sept. 9, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the University Union Hinde Auditorium.

The free event, titled “Statewide Summit on Gang Injunctions – Civil Rights and Social Justice: A Case for Alternatives to Gang Injunctions Part 2,” is open to the public.

Sacramento area advocates including the Justice Reform Coalition, NAACP, LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens), La Raza Network and Americans for Freedom called for the summit in the wake of the establishment of a gang injunction in West Sacramento. The gang injunction imposes a 10 p.m. to sunrise curfew on those identified by the West Sacramento Police Department as members of an area street gang and makes it illegal for those identified by the police as gang members to associate with each other in public. Summit objectives include identifying alternative solutions to gang injunctions and discussing methodologies to defend civil and human rights.

Summit presenters include Sacramento State Criminal Justice Professor James Hernandez, ACLU attorney Miriam Kim, and Francisco Romero of Raza Rights. The event is hosted by Sacramento State’s Serna Center. To register, visit www.sacramentolulac.org or call (916) 947-1983.

For media assistance, contact the Sacramento State Public Affairs office at (916) 278-6156. For summit event information, contact Phil Barros, event chairperson, at (916) 947-1983 or Luisa Menchaca at (916) 803-7842.