In this issue…
Building Momentum for #LessIsMoreNY
Katal Joint Member Meeting
Building Momentum for #LessIsMoreNY
This week we made a big end of year push on our #LessIsMoreNY campaign, building more momentum as we near 2021. As regular readers know, our proposed #LessIsMoreNY Act will benefit all 30,000-plus people on parole in New York, and further decarcerate state prisons and local jais.
We started the week with a #LessIsMoreNY House Party, hosted by Katal volunteer and Obie Award-winning Director, Lee Sunday Evans! This House Party was one in a series of Abolition House Parties hosted over the summer, and we were excited to share with guests our work to decarcerate and pass smart parole reform with #LessIsMoreNY.
Then yesterday, with our partners A Little Piece of Light and Unchained, we led a packed #LessIsMoreNY Campaign meeting. The meeting included updates about the current bill status, actions steps needed to get it to the finish line in 2021, and a robust discussion about various provisions of the legislation.
Katal Member Michael shares his story about his unexpected time spent in prison and being reincarcerated for a year on a technical violation of parole.
Campaign partner Donna Hylton explains how Less Is More would impact everyone on parole, including lifers.
And today, public defender agencies in New York City issued their 2021 agenda today, which includes a call to pass #LessIsMoreNY, noting that the upcoming session “presents a historic opportunity to promote racial justice by attacking mass incarceration and criminalization”. Read the NYC Defender 2021 Legislative Priorities Agenda here.
We are proud to be working alongside our partners and allies to build momentum to pass #LessIsMoreNY! Let’s make it happen in 2021!
To learn more about #LessIsMoreNY, check out our fact sheet, and add your voice by adding your name or group to the growing number of supporters calling for passage of this important bill.
If you’d like to host an info session or house party, or if you have any questions about #LessIsMoreNY, please contact Melanie Dominguez, Community Organizer, mdominguez@katalcenter.org.
Katal Joint Member Meeting
Last night, we held an end-of-year Joint Member Meeting with some of our members in Connecticut and New York! Members across both states got a chance to meet each other virtually, share their experiences working together to build leadership and win systemic change, and begin to close the unprecedented year we all went through.
Together, our members have been incredibly active in Connecticut and New York – holding actions outside of correctional facilities, joining the call and action in the streets demanding for ending anti-Black racism, holding virtual press conferences to demand a comprehensive COVID-19 plan for incarcerated people, mobilizing people to take action online, and more. The Joint Member Meeting was a celebration of what we accomplished together this year, and a chance to begin outlining the vision of what we will accomplish together in the next.
If you’d like to learn more about being a Katal member or volunteer, please contact Lead Organizer Kenyatta Thompson, at kthompson@katalcenter.org.
Keep practicing social distancing, wear your mask, wash your hands, and check in on your neighbors. If you want to get involved, learn more about our work, or just connect, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
Katal Weekly Update PDF Version for printing and distribution.
