Austin Jones

Austin Jones is a student activist at City College of San Francisco majoring in political science. After discovering that there was no Black Student Union on his campus, he decided to co-found one with a colleague in 2014. Austin has rallied around issues on campus regarding the closure of City College and has more recently been organizing to educate Black and Brown communities on education reform, housing equality and the school to prison pipeline. An active voice in the Black Lives Matter movement here in San Francisco, Austin says that it is important for young people to speak up for the betterment of everyone.

What does #BlackLivesMatter mean to you?

AJ: Black Lives Matter to me means addressing the institutional racism that has been affecting Black people. It’s not just about being nationalist but it’s about addressing the inequality that is inflicted upon us.

How, when and why did you decide that you wanted to get involved?

AJ: I’ve been involved since I started at City College. I started by looking for a BSU (Black Student Union) on my campus just to find out that we didn’t have one. I came across SMAC (Students Making a Change) where I met Lulu and Gina (two collegians from Alive & Free/Omega Boys Club). At first we were organizing on campus around the potential closing of our school. Months later I decided that I wanted to be more involved in the community. I wanted to be a part of a BSU, but we didn’t have one so I co-founded a Black Student Union with my colleague Thea Matthews.

To be honest, I really didn’t look to get involved with the #BlackLivesMatter movement so to speak. It was something that I had to do. It wasn’t about joining a movement I just wanted to be active to help contribute to the community.

Joining the Movement

AJ: I decided to be involved in social and political movements and this happened right when the Black Lives Matter movement blew up. I co-organized a march in December of last year in downtown San Francisco. Thousands of people showed up in support of the movement. It was a national thing as well so it wasn’t just about San Francisco and City College so it was great.

What are your expectations as an organizer?

I want more people held accountable especially when it comes to the police force and their ability to kill a young black man, woman or a child. I want the government to be more accountable.I want to see more going into an organized effort which will come from education. A lot of us need to start reading more. A lot of us are mobilized, but a mobilized effort is not going to last. Mobilizing is simply reactionary but when you are organized you have goals not just demands with ways that you are looking to achieve that goal.

Men in the Movement

Anyone who is paying attention to the movement knows that there are not a lot of young men organizing for social justice on the front lines.

Anyone who is paying attention to the movement knows that there are not a lot of young men organizing for social justice on the front lines.

AJ: There aren’t a lot of brothas on the front line for various reasons. I do it because it is my responsibility.

Complete this sentence. I fight for…

AJ: I fight for peace. To be honest, I have never experienced complete and total peace. I fight for love. I would love to see my people loving one another and unifying and supporting one another. I fight for unity in my community. I fight for education. I fight for the complete abolishment of the prison system because it is not doing what it was originally built for.

Being Black, Alive and Free matters. What have you learned while Alive & Free/Omega Boys Club that you take to the front lines?

AJ: The biggest thing that I learned from Omega that I take to the front lines is speaking up. When I first came here I did not like to talk. I hated talking and when I was called on I hated it. It is so important to speak up. Every time I go up to speak there’s always something telling me ‘don’t do it’ and I tell myself that I have to because our voice matters. A lot of young people are shunned for speaking and are told not to speak up but we have to bring our voices to the front lines.

Another thing that I learned and bring to the front lines is responsibility. One thing that we are taught is to give back to our communities. A lot of people forget where they are from. I think that always having a sense of responsibility to your community is something I always remember as I organize and participate in demonstrations.

Austin is one of the many young people who have gone through our program and is on the front lines. We commend the efforts of the millennial activists who are organizing to sustain the movement and tackle community issues.