Suzanne Lacy, Julio Morales and Unique Holland, with Kim Batiste, Raul Cabra, Patrick Toebe, David Goldberg, and Anne Maria Hardeman (Oakland, 1998-2000)

Named after the police radio code for “emergency, clear the radio waves,” Code 33 was a three year project to reduce police hostility toward youth, provide youth with a set of skills to participate in their communities, and generate a more profound understanding of youth needs. It consisted of multiple strategies: a youth leadership team that met weekly; presentations before Neighborhood Crime Prevention Councils; art workshops for 350 youth from probation programs, high schools, and organizations; a prototype youth-police training session aired on local television; repeated support by Mayors Elihu Harris and Jerry Brown, city council people, school administrators, and the police; a mass media campaign; and a youth and adult artist team responsible for designing and producing the Code 33 performance.