Families and Friends of LA's Incarcerated Children

Families and Friends of Louisiana’s Incarcerated Children (FFLIC) is committed to building intergenerational Black leadership in the fight for the rights of youth targeted by systems of incarceration and their families. FFLIC was founded in 2001 on the belief that those most directly impacted should lead permanent change. At that time, parents, mostly Black mothers, came together to support one another in advocating for their children who were caught up in Louisiana’s brutal and ineffective youth incarceration system. Our founding members organized FFLIC's first campaign which led to the landmark closing in 2004 of one of the nation's worst youth prisons, Tallulah Youth Correctional Facility

FFLIC continues our fight to eradicate youth prisons, build collective power for directly impacted families, help pass critical legislation, and advocate for healthy functioning networks of support through our #LetKidsBeKids platform. We stand proud of our many successes over the past 21 years. This is especially true because our experience has told us that it’s harder for Black-led organizations to survive and thrive. Indeed, our member families are living in the intersection of racial, environmental and economic injustice. FFLIC mobilized to provide crisis relief support for over 90 families trying to rebuild after Hurricane Ida. Many families reported that FFLIC's emergency stipends were the only help they could access.

FFLIC’s history tells a story; we have achieved the impossible and that gives us strength and courage to carry on. We uplift the voices of directly affected families, we extend love and healing to parents who have lost their children to the system, we honor all the single Black mothers who are consistently and deeply underestimated---we wrap them in our arms, ensure their dignity, offer solidarity, understanding, and the tools for self-determination and power. 

We would not have reached this point without you, our beloved partners and supporters. Your commitment to funding Black leaders and communities with the lived experience of racial oppression is the most direct path to dismantling systems of racism. We thank you for standing with us in unity to demand alternatives to punitive and abusive systems as we envision a world without bars. With your help, we can build this dream together!