Monday, March 27, 2017

Erie: UUCE Series on Racism & Mass Incarceration

UUCE SERIES ON RACISM & MASS INCARCERATION
You are invited to watch the 13TH -- a 90-minute Oscar-nominated documentary revealing the inevitable intersection  of race, justice, morality, and mass incarceration permitted by a clause in the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution; the   1865 amendment intended to abolish slavery.  It will be shown  on Wednesday evening, March 29, at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary   of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie (7180 Perry Highway, Erie PA) . Please make a special effort to attend the March 29th showing of the  13TH documentary. This event kicks off a series of four  discussion sessions sponsored by the Adult Education  Committee to better understand the racism implications of mass  incarceration that have afflicted our country in recent decades.  Afterwards, refreshments will be served and you will have the option to sign up for the future discussion sessions.    Free and Open to the Public.

Four interactive, interracial, bi-weekly group discussions are scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m. on April 6 & 20 and May 4 & 18 at the same location.  Michelle Alexander’s 2010 best-selling book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, will be used as a resource.  Reading the book in advance is encouraged but not required for participation. The goals of the sessions are to increase understanding of what is happening and to find pragmatic ways of dismantling the structures of racial inequality that guarantee white privilege.  The topic of discussion on April 6 will be the 13TH documentary that we watched on March 29.
On April 20, we will begin our discussion of The New Jim Crow.  Michelle Alexander, the author, is an ACLU attorney who documents the mass incarceration of people of color through court sanctioned and biased policing, prosecution and sentencing.  Using War on Drugs legislation on a population without adequate legal representation, the convicted felon becomes a second-class citizen, who upon release from prison, is unable to find housing or employment, and is ineligible for food stamps or the right to vote.  The entire minority community is thus further impoverished.
*  13TH is shown with permission of Netflix.  Caution: some scenes are not recommended for young children.

No comments:

Post a Comment