African Americans and the Criminal Justice System Dialogue Wednesday, March 4, 2015

You are invited to join the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and the Juneteenth Cincinnati in a discussion of the Criminal Justice System and African Americans, Wednesday, March 4, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. at the Mt. Auburn Presbyterian Church. 

This year is the 150 anniversary of the adoption of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution intended to abolish slavery.  Community organizations throughout the City are learning about the history of criminalization and forced labor following the 13th amendment and discussing their impact on current events involving shootings by police and the mass incarceration of Black men.  We are encouraging people to watch the PBS documentary “Slavery by Another Name” prior to the March 4 meeting. It can be viewed for free on the PBS website at www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/watch/.   “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander will also be considered in this discussion.

The March 4 meeting is an opportunity to discuss the issues raised by this history and how it impacts us to this day. It also will serve as a discussion leader briefing for seven small group LWV unit meetings in March.  The Cincinnati Human Relations Commission is joining us for the March 4 meeting and we invite other organizations and individuals to join us on Wednesday, March 4.

For more information, see the League of Women Voters website, www.lwvcincinnati.org

Douglas Blackmon, a Wall Street Journal reporter, published the book Slavery by Another Name in 2008. The book began as an article Blackmon wrote for The Wall Street Journal detailing the use of black forced labor by U.S. Steel Corporation in Birmingham, Alabama. Seeing the strong response to the article, he began research for a more comprehensive look at the topic. The resulting book was well received by critics and became a New York Times Best Seller. In 2009, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction, and in 2011, was adapted into a documentary film for PBS.