In the past, YUCA youth have fought against the criminalization of youth of color.

Stop Proposition 21 In the summer of 1999 YUCA youth began to research former Governor Pete
Wilson’s anti-youth initiative (Proposition 21).  This initiative would place 14 year olds  in adult prisons,
increase penalties for ‘gang” related activities, allow wire tapping of ‘suspected’ gang members and
reduce felony vandalism from damages of $50,000 to $400 while providing no funds for prevention
andintervention services for youth.  At the same time juvenile crime rates had gone down 20.8% since
1982 while California continued to spend more on prisons then education.  At that time, the prison industry in
California received 660 million dollars more from the state budget than education. Early on YUCA youth saw
the campaign against Proposition 21 as a means to involve more young people in environmental justice work
and to further educate people on the connections between juvenile justice and environmental justice  As a
result, YUCA joined the statewide campaign to defeat Proposition 21. YUCA youth came together with four
other South Bay youth organizations to form a youth coalition in the South Bay to fight Proposition 21. 
This coalition successfully organized actions, developed and disseminated information, led presentations
for high schools, colleges and community groups, and served as a clearing house for volunteers.  This coalition
was the only one of its kind in the South Bay! YUCA youth also worked with “Youth Force” to organize
simultaneous actions in San Jose and San Francisco on PG&E, a funder of the initiative.  YUCA youth with
members of the South Bay Coalition successfully organized an action on PG&E’s San Jose office that drew
over 50 youth and received local media coverage.  Soon after PG&E announced that they would not provide
any more funds to back the initiative!  YUCA youth also teamed up with students at Stanford University and
members of the South Bay Coalition to target Stanford University for their recognition of Pete Wilson with a
Hoover Fellowship.  Youth and students confronted the President of Stanford and demanded that he deny
renewal of Pete Wilson’s Fellowship.  This action drew over 100 youth and students! In East Palo Alto, YUCA
youth also set up registration and voter education drives to get out the vote. While the Proposition itself
passed in California, it was resoundingly defeated in the Bay Area, including East Palo Alto. Prop 21 was also
significant in that it gave birth to a burgeoning youth organizing movement, bringing together young people
from all over the Bay to organize.