We are proud to announce that All of Us or None organizers Linda Evans and Harriette Davis were honored as Change Agents July 16th at the Senior Ex-Offender Program "In the Trenches" awards banquet. All of Us or None has also been presented certificates of appreciation and honor by numerous individuals and organizations, including Mayor Gavin Newsom, Senator Barbara Boxer, and U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Since 2003, All of Us or None has been actively fighting discrimination against people who have been in prison. During the last six months, we have seen many of our programs blossom and begin to bring about real change. Last year's Peace and Justice Community Summits in Oakland, San Francisco, and East Palo Alto opened up the possibility of new collaborations with elected officials, community leaders, and community-based organizations. We are moving forward with the demands we presented at the Summits:

1. End all forms of discrimination against people with criminal records.
2. Reject the lifetime ban on welfare and food stamps.
3. Implement the Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents.
4. Shut down California Youth Authority; eliminate use of gang databases.
5. Ban the Box requiring disclosure of criminal records on applications for public employment and subsidized housing.
6. Increase support services for people coming out of prison.

In San Francisco, All of Us or None has been working with the Human Rights Commission, seeking their support for our BAN THE BOX resolution - an effort to eliminate the box requiring disclosure of past criminal records on public employment and housing applications. We have organized numerous community endorsements and publicized the effects of discrimination on our communities. In September we expect that these resolutions will be presented to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and we will present formerly-incarcerated people to testify. We will be initiating similar campaigns in East Palo Alto, Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda County.

When Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown instituted a curfew against people on state parole and probation, All of Us or None and Critical Resistance mobilized to demand jobs and housing for these people, instead of house arrest. We wrote an Opinion Editorial that was published in the San Francisco Chronicle and organized a protest that symbolically locked Jerry Brown into his house at 10 p.m. We also organized a job line at City Hall after Brown's aide said the City would hire formerly-incarcerated people. Though the City of Oakland still discriminates against people with criminal records--the City Council has rejected recent efforts to secure city employment for parolees--but we are confident that this fight will be won.

We have also been working with the ACLU of Northern California to form a voting rights coalition that will inform prisoners in county jails that they retain their right to vote. Before the 2004 elections LSPC Program Director Dorsey Nunn received official notice from the Secretary of State that county jail prisoners DO retain the right to vote, regardless of their convictions. Now we are working to guarantee that county sheriffs inform prisoners of their rights and ensure that their votes are collected and counted.

Another task that All of Us or None has undertaken is organizing a series of Criminal Records Summits that inform people with criminal convictions of remedies that may dismiss past convictions. The remedies are limited, but do allow people with convictions to answer NO to the question "Have you ever been convicted in a court?" on applications for employment and public services. This initiative started with a Criminal Records Summit at Laney College, sponsored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, organized by East Bay Community Law Center, and attended by over 900 people. The Laney College Summit was followed by informational seminars in East Palo Alto and San Jose, with another scheduled for August 27 in East Palo Alto City Hall. The existing remedies are so limited that many people are ineligible for relief, but we are also mobilizing to demand significant changes in the laws governing criminal record clearance procedure.

More and more people are active with All of Us or None, and we are building chapters in Santa Cruz, East Palo Alto, and Los Angeles in addition to our Bay Area chapter and others around the country. Los Angeles organizers recently held a Peace and Justice Summit in Watts, and organizers in San Bernardino are planning a similar Summit for November. We are working statewide to achieve our demands, and we are already making a difference. One of our most important accomplishments is that formerly-incarcerated people are finally finding our own voice, and speaking out LOUD and CLEAR about our needs.