Join the CAC Family! From weekly concerts to tours of Los Angeles to free art classes, we do it all and we want your help! Applications are now available for the 2013-2014 school year. Continue reading →

Los Angeles, one of the most ethnically and economically diverse cities in the world, has much reason to take pride in its beautiful mix of people. However, one aspect of LA that is painfully lacking in diversity is the city’s extensive prison system. The United States has the highest number of documented prisoners in the world, and Los Angeles County Jail is the largest in the country. With a population close to 19,000, about 80% of the prisoners are African American or Latino. The first and only state prison in LA county, located in Lancaster, is a male-only facility which opened in 1993. As of September 2007, this state prison had a design capacity of 2,300; it is currently operating with 4,976 prisoners, 216.3% of its occupancy rate.

• While people of color make up about 30% of the United States’ population, they make up about 60% of the country’s prison population
  • 1/15 Black men, 1/36 Hispanic men, and 1/106 White men are incarcerated
• The prison population has exploded in the past few decades, increasing by more than 700% since the 1970s, severely straining quality of life within these correction facilities
• Department of Justice has found Blacks and Hispanics are 3 times more likely to be searched than Whites during a traffic stop, while Blacks are twice as likely to be arrested and 4 times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with the police
• Students of color face harsher punishments in school than their white peers, which correlates with the disproportionate number of youth of color incarcerated
  • Black and Hispanic students represent more than 70% of school-related arrests or referrals to law enforcement
  • 58% of African American youth are sent to adult prisons
• As the number of female prisoners has dramatically increased, women of color are also disproportionately represented in jail
  • Hispanic women are 70% more likely than white women to be incarcerated
  • Black women are 3 times more likely than white women to be incarcerated
• The war on drugs has primarily targeted communities of color where people are more likely to receive higher offenses, even though the Human Rights Watch has shown that people of color are NO more likely to use or sell illegal drugs
• Black offenders receive sentences that are 10% longer than Whites for the SAME crimes
• Voter laws that prohibit people with felony convictions to vote disproportionately affect men of color
• People of color face disparities in wage trajectory following release from prison

As incarceration in the United States is on the rise, major racial disparities suggest deep-seated abuse within the justice system, and deserve attention. People of color have too often been disenfranchised, marginalized, and stigmatized by institutionalized policies for us to remain quiet.

We must be critical of running the system, when it slowly starts to run us.

Via SANAA:

 Its that time of year again!!!!!

In celebration of our community, we are havin’ a BLOCK PARTY at Sunset Rec!

Join SANAA for the OFFICIAL AFTER PARTY of
2nd ANNUAL MUSIC JAM !
FRIDAY MAY 10th 10pm-2am

PRICE :$5 ALL NIGHT!!
Everyone Welcome!

Come Join us after MUSIC JAM ft. SKYE TOWNSEND and RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ, as we end the night with a party that you WON’T FORGET!!!

DJ BOOGIE will be on the 1′s and 2′s
**ALL of the best HIP HOP MUSIC that will make you wanna DANCE your life away!!! **

TRUST ME… YOU DON’T WANNA MISS IT!

A GUARANTEED GREAT TIME!!!!!!!

Where: Sunset Rec Buenos Aires Room
111 Easton Drive Los Angeles, Ca 90095
(park in Parking structure RC )

Make sure to JOIN US FOR OUR 2nd ANNUAL MUSIC JAM ft. SKYE TOWNSEND and RAQUEL RODRIGUEZ!
https://www.facebook.com/events/277250319077635/?notif_t=plan_user_invited

ALSO join us for our INTERACTIVE ART EXHIBIT in the Vista Room! which will be set up from 5pm-2am!!!

Facebook Event Page

Via Jazz Reggae Festival!

Yes, you heard right. The JazzReggae Festival at UCLA is giving current UCLA students a limited amount of FREE tickets to the Festival. Below are the rules and details:

-Distribution date is Tuesday, May 14th, 2013. 

-Students will get a ticket to REGGAE DAY and JAM DAY. 

-Students must present ONE current and valid Bruin Card in return for ONE set of tickets (one for Reggae Day and one for Jam Day). Students may not hold other students’ cards. Only one set of tickets for both days per student. 

-CTO will open at 8:00am on May 14th.

-No camping is allowed between 12:00am (midnight) and 6:00am before the distribution date. 

For those who don’t want to wait in line, UCLA student tickets are now available for a DISCOUNTED price of $25 at CTO upon presentation of a current and valid Bruin Card. 

*****The FREE tickets as well as the DISCOUNTED UCLA student tickets are limited and will only be available until supplies last at the CTO.*****
For more information please visit www.jazzreggaefest.com or the Facebook event page.

Over the past couple of weeks, the Kerckhoff Art Gallery hosted a special art gallery filled called “The Self-Worth Project.” This project was a photo documentation of many different people that choose a word that encompasses their struggles and wrote it on their bodies. There were many pictures through out the gallery, each with a different word that showed the struggles and difficulties that each person faced. After looking at these pictures, I definitely felt impacted by it, and was both surprised and aware of it. These pictures delivered a strong message that we as human beings should be more understanding and loving. Overall, this gallery was great because it surely was an eye-opener and had beautiful photos.

CAC’s Art Series and E3 are seeking artists for their Sustainable Art Competition.
Submit your artwork and receive a Native Foods gift card as well as be eligible to win gift cards amounting up to $300! Continue reading →

Come watch your favorite UCLA Dance Crews (NSU Modern, VSU Modern, Samahang Modern and ACA Hip Hop) perform alongside LA’s Greatest B-Boy crews and “America’s Best Dance Crew” winners! Tickets are 10 dollars, available at CTO. It’s an entertainment event you won’t want to miss.

EVENT INFO:
FRIDAY, APRIL 26
BREAK LA
7-10 pm LATC

Facebook Event Page

BreakLA Website

This past Tuesday, Cultural Affairs Commission’s very own Art Series put on a Henna class in the Kerckhoff Art Gallery. Attendees were treated to their own henna, a tool to apply detailed henna tattoos as well as a guide to henna.

After setting everyone up, members of Art Series briefly explained henna and showed various examples of the amazing tattoos it can create.

After the presentation, everyone dived in.

About 30 minutes into the class, a professional henna artist showed up and anyone was allowed to sign up for a free tattoo!

Check out some of the great tattoos from the event below and don’t forget to check out future Art Series events for more fun and free opportunities like this!