In this issue…
Join us in Welcoming Kenyatta Thompson, Katal’s Hartford Community Organizer
Lobbying for #LessIsMoreNY at the Capitol
Teach-in: #LessIsMoreNY, Reforming Community Supervision (Parole)
Join us in Welcoming Kenyatta Thompson, Katal’s Hartford Community Organizer
Kenyatta came to Katal in 2018 as a Community Organizing Fellow in Hartford, Connecticut. Now, we are excited to announce that upon completing her fellowship, Kenyatta has joined us as our Community Organizer.
Her experiences in her native Brooklyn, New York exposed her to disparities in police surveillance, access to educational opportunities and the overall life outcomes for the people within her neighborhood. These early experiences remained with her, and propelled her to challenge the justice system.
Prior to joining Katal, Kenyatta worked as a Workforce Developer at Roca Inc. in Springfield, MA, where she facilitated Workforce Readiness groups with young people who had been incarcerated. The disparities in access and outcomes that Kenyatta witnessed in Brooklyn were also present in Springfield, which in turn, shaped Kenyatta’s path towards justice. Previous internship experiences have also shaped her path. Kenyatta has worked with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention on prison suicide prevention strategies. She worked on statewide suicide prevention policy with the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. And she did a stint in the Massachusetts legislature, working on criminal justice reform and constituent support for State Senator Eric P. Lesser (D-Longmeadow, MA).
We are excited to welcome Kenyatta to the Katal team as Community Organizer. She seeks to use her position at Katal to “liberate her people” within the community, and “push against oppressive systems” working against Black and Brown people.
Please join us in congratulating Kenyatta, and be sure to check back often for updates about her work!
Lobbying for #LessIsMoreNY at the Capitol
Katal Members from Albany alongside Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan at the Capitol.
On Monday, February 10th, we were back in Albany to fight for our #LessIsMoreNY bill, for bail and speedy trial reform, and for the Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act. Our large group included our partner Unchained, faith leaders, Katal members and leaders from NYC and the Capital Region, and our staff: Cedric Fulton, Donna Hylton, and Keith Brown.
Katal members alongside our Director of Health & Harm Reduction, Keith Brown, and ally, Robert Suarez.
The day was packed. We educated dozens of legislators and their staff thru meetings and distributing our facts sheets. We garnered new co-sponsors for the #LessIsMoreNY Act, and we pushed lawmakers to act swiftly on a bold criminal justice reform package.
Our Community Organizer, Cedric Fulton, and members at Assemblyman Joseph Lentol’s office.
Read the #LessIsMoreNY Fact Sheet here.
If you’d like to learn more about this bill or if you’d like to sign your group onto our growing list of supporters, contact Donna Hylton at dhyton@katalcenter.org or Cedric Fulton at cfulton@katalcenter.org.
Teach-in: #LessIsMoreNY
Reforming Community Supervision (Parole)
If you’re in the Hudson, NY area, please join us for our Less Is More Teach-In led by Cedric Fulton, at the Hudson Area Library on Thursday, February 21, 2019 from 6 to 8pm.
Details and RSVP here.
If you would like to hold a Less Is More teach-in in your community, we’ll work with you. Contact Cedric at cfulton@katalcenter.org.
