In May 2001, the California Board of Corrections was ready to award millions in Federal and State grant money to Alameda County to fund the new juvenile “super jail” in the suburban city of Dublin. A nonprofit center in San Francisco called the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights joined youth groups to organize the “Books Not Bars” campaign, the goal of which was to reduce the “widespread overincarceration of youth.” The article focuses on how the “Books Not Bars” campaign interrupted Alameda County’s plan to build the new juvenile detention center, which was to be one of the largest per capita in the country. “Books Not Bars” pointed out that juvenile crime was actually decreasing at the time the “super jail” was being planned. Protesters, many from Oakland’s Youth Force Coalition, gathered outside of the Alameda County Probation Department to protest the plans for the jail, forcing their way into the building and presenting a letter of opposition to department officials. Petitions and postcards opposing the new facility were signed by citizens and demands for officials to consider alternatives to detention were voiced at a special public hearing. Activists convinced the California Board of Corrections to reject Alameda County’s request for $2.3 million in grant funds. The plans for the new detention center were then downsized, decreasing the number of beds. By the end of 2002, the outcome of the new facility remained unclear. The involvement of the youthful protesters was viewed as integral to the successes of the “Books Not Bars” campaign. Figures