USC

Jails and Justice: Rethinking Public Safety through the Arts brought together a collective of diverse artists making work in support of the Reform LA Jails 2020 ballot initiative, including members of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Dignity and Power Now, White People for Black Lives, and practitioners from the USC Institute for Theatre & Social Change.

From October to December 2018, USC’s Institute for Theatre & Social Change partnered with Black Lives Matter LA and Dignity and Power Now to devise “invisible theatre” scenes that were performed on LA’s buses and across digital platforms

Under the direction of artist and activist Gina Belafonte, a one-act forum theatre play was constructed from material generated by this Invisible Theatre Project, and then presented at the California African American Museum on Tuesday April 16, 2019. 

Reform LA Jails represents a coalition of citizens, community leaders, businesses and organizations that urge a more effective strategy of preventing crime, reducing recidivism, and permanently reducing the population of people who are experiencing mental health, drug dependency, or chronic homelessness issues and cycling in and out of jail.

A panel discussion with the lead artists followed the performances.

Presented by USC Arts in Action, part of USC Visions and Voices: The Arts and Humanities Initiative, in partnership with Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, the California African American Museum, Dignity and Power Now, the USC School of Architecture, and the USC Kaufman School of Dance.