Dolores Canales

Access to EducationLong SentencingRacial JusticeRestorative JusticeWomen and Incarceration

Apr 4

Written By Gary Ricke

Dolores Canales is an activist, organizer, and the Director of Community Outreach for The Bail Project.

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About Dolores

Dolores Canalesis the director of community outreach for The Bail Project. Previously a Soros Justice Fellow, Dolores is the co-founder of California Families Against Solitary Confinement (CFASC), which she co-founded while organizing on behalf of her son and thousands of others in solitary confinement during the Pelican Bay hunger strikes. She has also worked as a youth coordinator for the Orangewood Children’s Foundation. She serves on the advisory committee of Social Workers Against Solitary Confinement (SWASC), as a board member of National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), and as a Steering Committee member for the Unlock the Box campaign. Dolores brings a wealth of leadership experience in organizing with those personally affected by incarceration, drawing from her own experience being incarcerated as well as having a son who is incarcerated. She currently serves as a Commissioner on the Probation Oversight Commision for the County of Los Angeles and was appointed by Board of Supervisor Janice Hahn. She is a core member of the California Mandela Campaign, organizing to end the use of isolated housing in jails, prisons and immigration detention.

The 2024 documentary The Strike tells the story of Dolores and others who helped organize hunger strikes in prisons across California. Represent Justice partnered with The Strike team to launch an impact campaign that utilized the film's power to expose the solitary confinement and honor those who resisted it. Our impact report details our work's influence, how we engaged audiences, and The Strike's lasting contributions to justice.

See the impact report

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~New Film~The StrikeCalifornia

Gary Ricke http://orbisdesign.com

Dolores Canales

Topics:

About Dolores

Michael Saavedra

Jack Morris

#RepresentJustice