[News] TOMORROW: All of Us or None Peace and Justice Community Summit

[News at freedomarchives.org]

Hope to see lots of you there tomorrow morning.

All of Us or None Peace and Justice Community Summit
Saturday, July 31, 10am-3pm
First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St., Oakland
Childcare and community lunch provided

Check out today's op-ed in the Oakland Tribune:

http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%257E1761%257E2304307,00.html

7/30/2004

Arecord 6.9 million people are currently under control of the criminal
justice system nationwide, and a new civil rights movement is organizing to
fight for their rights.
More than 30 million adults bear the burden of felony convictions in the
United States. Thirteen million adults have been locked up at some time in
their lives, along with hundreds of thousands of juveniles.

Most of us are black or Latino -- nearly all of us are poor. Most of us are
also parents, and 80 percent of women in prison are single mothers who will
lose custody of their children because of a felony conviction.

What does it mean to walk around with a felony conviction, even after you've
been released from prison? It means you continue to be punished for the rest
of your life.

A drug felony conviction means your whole family may be evicted from public
housing if you try to go home after prison, and you'll be subjected to a
lifetime ban on collecting welfare or food stamps.

You'll lose custody of your children forever if you've been in prison over
15 months.

You're automatically excluded from most jobs as soon as you check that box
on the application that asks, "Have you ever been arrested?"

In California, you won't be able to vote until you're off parole, and in
some states you'll never vote.

These restrictions undermine the political power of black and Latino
communities.

Gaining access to basic survival needs is nearly impossible for former
prisoners, which dramatically impacts the quality of life for our families
and communities. The medical and mental health problems of people returning
from prison pose a public health crisis.

Our children suffer lifelong scars when their parents are imprisoned -- up
to 60 percent of incarcerated youths have a parent in prison. Many of our
children end up in an often-abusive foster care system. Restrictions on
prison visits are eroding the connection to family that is so crucial for
re-entry into the community.

It's time to stop this devastating discrimination.

On Saturday at the First Unitarian Church in Oakland, join former prisoners
and their families to speak with elected officials and community leaders at
a groundbreaking Peace & Justice Community Summit organized by All of Us or
None and sponsored by Keith Carson, District 5 representative on the Alameda
County Board of Supervisors.

The summit will focus on how sending so many people to prison has impacted
families and our communities. We will demand specific changes to end the
life sentence of discrimination that formerly incarcerated people face.

We say: Enough is enough. When our prison sentences are over, we should be
accepted back into our communities and given equal opportunities and support
for our re-entry. Please join us in this fight.

Yvonne Cooks, Linda Evans, and Dorsey Nunn are members of All of Us or None,
a national organizing initiative started by people who have been in prison
to fight against the discrimination they face every day. The Peace & Justice
Community Summit is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the First Unitarian
Church, 685 14th St. in Oakland. Child care and lunch provided. Call (415)
255-7036, ext. 337.

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Over 2 million people are currently in prison, and thousands are being
released every day back into the community. This mass incarceration has
directly targeted Black and Latino people, and communities of color.

Over 13 million people in the U.S. have felony convictions and are
discriminated against in housing, jobs, education, and public assistance. On
Saturday, July 31 an East Bay Peace and Justice Summit will be held at the
First Unitarian Church in Oakland. The Summit is sponsored by All of Us or
None, (an organization of people who have been in prison and our families),
and other community organizations.

This Peace and Justice Summit will be the first time that
formerly-incarcerated people and our families have testified about the
discrimination we face when we are released from prison. We will be
discussing our concerns with a panel of elected officials and other
community leaders. The Summit will focus on how the discrimination we face
because of felony convictions has impacted our families and our communities,
and we will make specific recommendations for changes in policy.

PLEASE JOIN US.

www.allofusornone.org

For more information: Yvonne Cooks 510-410-1099, Linda Evans 510-219-0297,
or Dorsey Nunn 415-516-9599, or Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
415-255-7036 x377. Please distribute this message widely.



The Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-9977
www.freedomarchives.org 
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