[Peace] CU Citizens for Peace and Justice present "Forgiveness Weekend" (with your help!)

[Danielle Schumacher]

>From February 18-20, 2005, CU Citizens for Peace and Justice is planning a "Forgiveness Weekend." The events are meant to bring together academics, religious leaders, activists, and felons in order to shed light on the various forms of disenfranchisement felons find themselves facing from the day they are arrested until the day they die. Over the course of the weekend, participants will find answers to questions such as:

Why should we care about what happens to felons? The U.S. spends billions of dollars each year to unfairly arrest and incarcerate poor people and people of color.  The majority of prisoners and felons are non-violent drug offenders, and in Illinois black men are 57 times more likely than white men to go to prison for a drug offense.

How does a felony charge affect daily life? Felons are stripped of the right to vote, the right to financial aid for higher education, to public housing and employment, and more.

How can felons help themselves? Expungement, political and cultural education, economic self-sufficiency, etc.

How can academics, religious leaders, and activists help? Mandatory minimum sentencing reform, advocacy, alternatives to incarceration, Citizen Police Review, learning more about the War on Drugs and the Prison-Industrial Complex, etc.

Below is a tentative schedule, budget needs, potential cosponsors, and a list of ways you can help! 

*Schedule

Send feedback to danielle at illinoisnorml.org and lifestratinst19 at sbcglobal.net.

Friday, February 18

Meet and Greet (including dinner?)

Holiday Inn of Urbana?

6-7pm

Clifford Thornton, founder of Efficacy (www.efficacy-online.org). Travels to speak about race, class, and the War on Drugs. Read more about Clifford:  "http://www.reconsider.org/asp/biography.asp?SpeakerID=903"

Who has felonies and why? How and why the War on Drugs has failed, why we should care, and what we can do about it. Mandatory minimum sentences.

7-8pm

Aaron Ammons (with video testimony presentation by VEYA?)

What challenges do felons face after prison? The various forms of disenfranchisement.

8-9pm

Discussion: (Among other issues...) How does crime hurt our community and how should we handle criminals? Why should/how can the community help felons build a productive life after prison?

Saturday, February 19

Registration table- speaker bios, cosponsor information.

Salem Baptist Church classrooms?

9-10:15

How to Get Your Record Expunged (Rep. Danny Davis?)

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, White Privilege (Clifford, Danielle S.?)

10:30-11:45

Backed Into Sovereignty: Empowerment and Employment. (Mr. Avon)

Know Your Rights- Busted! with supplementary information (UIUC NORML/SSDP)

Noon to 1

Lunch and film about Rev. Bevel and the weekend's focus issues. Rev. James Bevel played a key role in the Civil Rights Movement, and still tirelessly teaches today. More about the Rev.: http://www.thehistorymakers.com/biography/biography.asp?bioindex=359&category=civicMakers.

1-2:15

Non-Violent Resistance in the 21st Century (Rev. Bevel)

Health Issues (local expert on African-American health issues?)

2:30-3:45

Women's Issues (Assata Zerai)

Defining Manhood (Dr. Alim)

Sunday, February 20

Morning

Church sermons tailored to fit the weekend's theme of forgiving felons, helping felons to forgive themselves, and dealing with crime and punishment in a more informed, just manner.

3-5

Holiday Inn of Urbana?

Keynote by Rev. Bevel: "The Faith Community: The Watchmen for Social Justice"

*Budget

Email danielle at illinoisnorml.org with fundraising ideas, possible funding sources, or to help apply for grants.

Cost of location.

Food for Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch, Sunday refreshments.

Publicity and copying costs.

Travel and fees for speakers:

Clifford- $500 + travel from Connecticut

Rev. Bevel- at least $750 + travel

Rep. Davis- $100 + travel from Chicago



*COSPONSORS

To help with particular areas, email the contact person. danielle at illinoisnorml.org or lifestratinst19 at sbcglobal.net with Carol or Aaron in the subject line. We will be asking cosponsors to publicize to members, contribute funds, and have a table at our Information Fair.

Danielle 

AWARE

UIUC NORML/SSDP, Amnesty International, UC Hip Hop Congress, PRC, and other UIUC student groups (Will Hill, Lynsee)

Champaign County ACLU, University YMCA, Champaign YWCA

Academics and their departments- Stephen Hartnett (Speech Comm), Assata Zerai (Sociology), Ken Salo and Faranak Miraftab, Belden Fields (Political Science), Julilly (History), Chris Span (Educational Policy Studies), Manisha Desai, Center for Democracy in a Multiracial Society, Law School, Criminal Justice, Community Health, other?

IDF

Liberation Education, School for Designing a Society

Food sponsors- Food Not Bombs, IGA, etc

national drug policy reform groups- Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative, NORML, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, Drug Policy Alliance, DRCNet, MAPInc., harm reduction, Criminal Justice Policy Foundation

Champaign and Urbana schools (Deja?)

CPRB and Coalition cosponsors

Champaign County Health Care Consumers

Carol

NAACP- Freedom Fund, student chapter

NCAAM

League of Women Voters

National Council of Negro Women

Union of U of I Professionals

Urban League- Young Professionals

Nation of Islam Study Group

service, civil rights, and other community groups?

Aaron

VEYA

Dr. Patterson, Prof. Cha-Jua, African-American Cultural Program, etc

Religious groups and churches- Channing Murray, McKinley Foundation, those listed through Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative (http://www.idpi.us/)- Unitarians, Quakers, etc

*TASK LIST

Email danielle at illinoisnorml.org or come to next AWARE meeting (5pm Sunday at the IMC) to volunteer for a task/working group.

1. Secure location- Holiday Inn, churches, Carle?

2. Finalize schedule- please send feedback on proposed schedule!

3. Saturday lunch video- Carol has ideas about content, but needs help researching and producing the video.

4. Information fair and literature- coordinate space for cosponsor tables, Information Fair to occur throughout the weekend?

5. Flyer and publicity plan- design and print flyer, help formulate publicity plan.

6. Media working groups- write press release and contact media outlets.

7. Speaker buddies/protocol- will need one volunteer for each speaker.

8. Food- approach local businesses for donations for Friday dinner, Saturday breakfast and lunch, Sunday refreshments.

9. Cosponsors- help contact potential cosponsors.

10. Funding- approach potential donors, ideas for other funding sources, help Danielle apply for grants.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/peace/attachments/20041129/57980ae2/attachment.htm