Lafayette Aziz Moore, a Justice-in-Education scholar, spoke about the importance of investing in the city’s youth in an interview filmed during the 32nd “Jail Ain’t No Good” parade, organized by Masjid Malcolm Shabazz, a Harlem-based Muslim temple founded in 1956.

“We need to know that our youth is our most valuable resource, and we have to save them, because jail ain’t no good,” Aziz, who is also an Jail Ain’t No Good coordinator, said in a video recorded Saturday morning, April 18, 2026, as he marched through the streets of New York City. Wearing a screen-printed sweatshirt amplifying the name of the event, he expanded on the parade’s message, describing the ripple effects of incarceration across communities:

“Jail ain’t no good for the person or people who commit the offense. Jail ain’t no good for the community that suffers from the offense. Jail ain’t no good for the system that benefits from the offense. The families, everyone suffers, because jail ain’t no good.”

Written by Kasiet Toktomusheva