Published by The Imprint
Voting drives are underway as California’s March 5 primary election approaches. Mailboxes are stuffed with glossy flyers, robo texts are landing on cell phones, and lawn signs are planted in countless front yards.
Less seen by outsiders are the ramped-up efforts in juvenile halls statewide. In living units and cell blocks up and down the state, new participants in democracy are being particularly sought out this year: Young people who committed crimes as juveniles and remain behind bars this historic election season.
For most of her life, Mimi McCowan had never understood the point of voting. The 22-year-old grew up in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Mid-City, where gangs and violence were prevalent. McCowan was first arrested at age 14. She spent several years cycling in and out of county juvenile halls and a juvenile detention camp — before ending up in the adult county jail.
“I was never a big fan of voting because nothing seems to change in my community,” she said in an interview. “Even after all these elections, my community is still struggling.”
But eventually, McCowan’s views would change.
McCowan now works as an intern with the Los Angeles chapter of the Young Women’s Freedom Center, and she said her views on ways that young people can serve their community have expanded. Earlier this month, McCowan, along with peers from the center, testified before a state oversight agency, urging them to close down two L.A County juvenile detention facilities that have long struggled to provide healthy and safe conditions for the predominantly Black and brown youth they house.