Earlier this year, I was privileged to be invited to work with my friend Lisa Lee who is the director of the Jane Addams Hull House Museum to help facilitate a community-curated exhibition about the history and current manifestations of juvenile justice in the United States.

A group of terrific community activists, advocates, and juvenile justice professionals met in March to share ideas about what should be included in an exhibition about juvenile justice.  There were dozens of ideas and each one was better than the next.

As part of putting together this exhibit, Lisa very much wanted to incorporate the voices of incarcerated young people as well as youth who have been impacted by the juvenile justice system in other ways.  She embraced an idea that I advanced to work with incarcerated youth on creating mini-zines about their lives while also working with youth on the outside to create a graphic novel about juvenile justice.  We hope to release that book next Spring.  It will be used to educate young people and others about how the system operates and its impact on all involved.  Another part of the exhibit provides an opportunity for direct engagement of the public with youth on the inside through video conferencing.

The Hull House Museum reopened on Wednesday after an $800,000 renovation.  This was the first renovation of the house and museum in 50 years.

Our local ABC affiliate interviewed Lisa about the reopening and the celebrations surrounding the 150th anniversary of Jane Addams’ birth.

Here is another report about the reopening museum that provides a look inside some of the renovated spaces.

Finally, I have been unwell for the past few days and so sadly I missed the People’s Block Party to celebrate the reopening. As such, I have not yet seen the Unfinished Business exhibit. I look forward to seeing it in the very near future. It was truly exciting to be a part of this process.

One more terrific feature of this community-curated exhibit involves a series of rotating “action” stations that will feature various campaigns and advocacy efforts currently being undertaken around issues of juvenile and criminal justice. I am proud that my organization is currently featured through our UN-marked campaign that seeks policy changes around the expungement of juvenile criminal records. Here is a great photo that Lisa sent me yesterday of our action station in the Unfinished Business exhibit. I find it poignant and moving to see this young child participating in an exhibit intended to get the public to consider the importance of erasing criminal records.

I encourage all of you who are interested in immigration history, women’s studies, and juvenile justice to stop by the museum to see all of the wonderful artifacts and catch the Unfinished Business exhibit (which will be up for one year).