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Terror Lynching in America

Our history of racial terror casts a shadow across the U.S. landscape. We must engage it more honestly.

Protesters March to Call for Close of Rikers Island

Bill Parry Times Ledger
Eighty percent of Riker's current population of 7,600 are imprisoned on the island because they are too poor to afford bail and 40 percent should be in a mental health facility instead.

A Strike at the Heart of the Prison-Industrial Complex

Sue Sturgis Facing South
Date on which prisoners across the U.S. are planning to strike over being forced to work for little or no pay, describing the protest as a "call to action against slavery in America": 9/9/2016

A Second Chance? Women In US Prisons Need a First One

Christia Mercer The Guardian
The US imprisons more women, both per capita and in absolute numbers, than any other country. As shocking as the statistics are, they don’t reflect the uniquely horrible circumstances many incarcerated women faced before their convictions. And, according to a report released Wednesday, women are also the fastest growing demographic in our jails, where people are booked and held pending trial, greatly exacerbating the societal disadvantages these women already face.

Did Slavery End in 1865?

Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Institute, talks about how slavery didn't just end in 1865, but how it evolved through Jim Crow, segregation and mass incarceration.

Mamie Till and Tarsha Jackson: ‘Mothers at the Gate’

Ebony Slaughter-Johnson Equal Voice
Decades later, the extreme, extrajudicial brutality Emmett Till encountered is almost inconceivable. Nevertheless, violence against African-American bodies still takes place today, sustained by a criminal justice system that provides everything but justice. And mothers like Mamie Till are still at the forefront of the fight for justice for their children and all children.

labor

"We Will Not Sit on the Sidelines": John Legend’s Proposal for Ending Mass Incarceration

John Legend Vox
In the past, unions sometimes shied away from knocking down systematic injustices, especially with regard to race. Not anymore. This is not the labor movement from last century. We will not sit on the sidelines. #FREEAMERICA is committed to joining others who are on the ground, doing the work to fix our broken criminal justice system. We are committed to standing with workers who are already in our schools standing between young people and the criminal justice system.

labor

Fighting for Racial Justice for Communities of Color

Tefere Gebre and Johanna Hester Medium.com
Their is a connection between mass incarceration and mass deportations. The broken prison system is linked to the conditions in detention centers and the overall mass criminalization of communities of color. The labor movement is a movement of second chances and firmly believes the criminal justice system in the United States needs to offer people another chance to contribute to and be full members of our society.
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