In this issue…
Grassroots Movements Are Needed to End Mass Incarceration
In Hartford: Join Us For Our Last Healthy & Just CT Statewide Coalition Meeting of 2019
In Albany: Capital Region Community Conversation on #LessIsMoreNY
Grassroots Movements Are Needed to End Mass Incarceration
by Lorenzo Jones and gabriel sayegh
Juneteenth for Justice, 2019 | Groups including Katal, JustLeadershipUSA, Start SMART NY, and more gather in the War room at the Capitol in Albany for a rally and speakout demanding immediate action from lawmakers.
The 2020 presidential race is spurring more debate about the role and influence of billionaires in our country and political system. As the criminal justice reform movement grows, an increasing number of billionaires are getting involved as donors, including here in New York, home to many in the billionaire class.
This week, dozens of state legislators are gathering at the ritzy Ritz Carlton in Westchester for a retreat on criminal justice reform in New York. More than 50 state legislators are in attendance, including Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins. The agenda includes visiting a state prison to meet with people detained there, discussing recent policy changes championed by grassroots groups, and creating an agenda for criminal justice reform in New York State.
In an opinion editorial by Katal’s co-executive directors, Lorenzo Jones and gabriel sayegh, we address why this is an issue and why its imperative that grassroots movements lead efforts to transform our country’s — New York’s specifically — deeply broken and racist criminal justice system, in order to ultimately end mass incarceration. “When it comes to securing justice, money is good, but the people are always better.”
We hope this article is helpful to those seeking to understand the dynamics currently playing out across the field as criminal justice becomes the new “sexy”, and we welcome your feedback.
Read our full opinion editorial at this link.
In Hartford: Join Us For Our Last Healthy & Just CT Statewide Coalition Meeting of 2019
We invite groups to join us Thursday, December 19, from 11am-12:30pm at our Hartford office for our last Healthy & Just CT Statewide Coalition meeting of the year.
To learn more about our work in Connecticut contact our Community Organizer, Kenyatta Thompson at kthompson@katalcenter.org or 860.937.6094. We hope that we’ll see you there!
In Albany: Capital Region Community Conversation on #LessIsMoreNY
Capital Region community! Join us next Tuesday, December 17, at the Sister Maureen Joyce Center from 6-7:30pm for an evening of meaningful discussion with community members as we explore the impacts of parole/community supervision, technical violations and their impacts on our communities. This important issue touches on the intersection of the core of marginalization, mass criminalization and the stigma associated with poverty and racial inequity, and your voice is essential to our goal of passing the Less Is More: Community Supervision Revocation Reform Act, keeping our communities intact and ensuring health, equity and justice for all.
Childcare will be available on site and refreshments will be served.
To join in our fight to get transformational parole reform passed in 2020 — or to coordinate a #LessIsMoreNY community conversation within your area contact Cedric Fulton at cfulton@katalcenter.org or at 518.965.6771 to learn more about our bill and how you can get involved.
For printing and distribution, Katal Weekly Update PDF version.
