[Peace] Activist Panel this Thursday: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs

[Danielle Schumacher]

Racial Disparity Takes Center Stage in the Campus and Community

Urbana, IL - October 21, 2004 - With the confiscation of controversial videos geared toward educating the community about local law enforcement, issues of racial disparity in Champaign-Urbana have come to the foreground now more than ever. A speaker's panel event hosted by the UIUC chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) will feature speakers to discuss racial inequality on the local, state, and national levels in room 66 of the main library on the University campus.

Representatives from local and national activist groups will give educational speeches on racial disparity in law enforcement and in the war on drug users. Clifford Thornton of Efficacy, a group devoted to educating on issues related to the unjust drug policies of the nation, will be speaking about racial injustice and how it is related and augmented by the nations skewed drug policies. Aaron Ammons of C-U Citizens for Peace and Justice, Martel Miller of Visionaries Educating Youth and Adults (VEYA), and Maria Thompson of VEYA will be develping Thornton's ideas and highlight the relevance to the immediate Champaign-Urbana community.

Activist groups like VEYA and C-U Citizens for Peace and Justice have already been working harder than ever to educate the community on these very topics. This event will help to reach the campus community and bring them closer to issues so prominent in the surrounding neighborhoods. "'Common' and 'unity' are two very important ideals rooted in the word 'community'," says President of UIUC NORML, Matthew King, "This event will help unify residential Champaign-Urbana with the campus-town and provide a starting point for open discussion and support of sensitive issues."

For more information about this event check out the UIUC chapter of NORML/SSDP website at www.uiucnorml.org. Organized speaking will begin at 8 pm, but feel free to come early and stay later to discuss and educate!

For more information: www.uiucnorml.org Contact: csundlof at uiuc.edu Phone: (217) 417-6209
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