Youth and Advocates Push for Transformative Criminal Justice In Olympia
Olympia, WA – A coalition of youth and advocates recently descended upon the state capitol on Criminal Justice Advocacy Day. The event centered on criminal justice reform, with attendees urging lawmakers to prioritize healing and opportunity for those impacted by the legal system.
The advocates met with Senate Majority Caucus Chair Bob Hasegawa, Representative Steve Bergquist, and Representative and Vice Chair of the House Capital Budget Committee David Hackney.
Leading the charge were organizations like the Freedom Project and Civil Survival, whose representatives expressed the need for immediate legislative action. Anthony Blankenship, Senior Community Organizer for Civil Survival, highlighted the scale of the issue in Washington State.
“We have 100,000 people who are cycling through our jail system every single year,” he said, noting that the number of Washingtonians with a criminal is approaching two million people.
Blankenship stressed that reform is not a fringe issue but a matter tied to housing, employment, and overall community health. Civil Survival's work spans re-entry legal aid—helping people vacate records and reduce fines—and advocacy for fundamental criminal justice and democracy reform.
A key point of contention for Blankenship was the potential stripping of funding for Blake refunds, a mechanism to clear records and compensate individuals harmed by a previously unconstitutional drug possession law. He argued that taking this funding undermines the long, individualized legal process necessary for people to receive the relief they deserve.
The role of youth and lived experience was central throughout the day. Thomas Hill, a C.A.R.E. Coordinator at the Freedom Project, said the organization’s mission is to dismantle systems of oppression by bringing cohorts of youth to Olympia to influence legislation.
Hill also detailed the Freedom Project’s legislative priorities, including pushing for the Ebony Alert, a system analogous to the Amber Alert but specific to missing Black women and girls—a group disproportionately affected by unreported disappearances.
Communications Director for the Office of Equity TraeAnna Holiday spoke to the significance of the gathering, emphasizing the Office’s role in bridging the gap between community and government. Holiday noted the necessity of direct contact between the next generation and legislators to ensure policy is rooted in community voice and lived experience.
“What's great about the legislative session is you see a lot of community advocacy, community organizing working to make sure that legislators are aware of the work that's happening on the ground and the bills that need to get passed,” she said.
Harmonie White, a 16-year-old Freedom Project Youth Leader, offered a testimonial about growing up with an incarcerated father. White’s personal story showed the impact of parental incarceration and the importance of youth having a space to freely be themselves.
“It's never your fault for the things that people have done in the past,” she said, adding that true strength comes from “talking about the problem rather than trying to hide from it.”
Collectively, the advocates asserted that true change requires not only protesting on the streets but showing up in the Capitol to hold legislators accountable. As Hill summarized, "Your local voice may be louder... this is actually where the change can happen that affects your community right now."
The message was clear: for Washington to heal and move forward, leaders must listen to and empower the voices of those most impacted by the systems it seeks to reform.
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