Reimagining Community Safety Speaker Series
The Reimagining Community Safety: A Program in Criminal Justice Speaker Series returns on February 3 and will be held on Wednesdays from 4:30pm to 5:45pm (Eastern).
All of the sessions will be on Zoom. Click here to register for the spring speaker series.
Upcoming Spring 2021 Speakers:
March 31 -- Oluchi Omeoga, Kandace Montgomery, and Miski Noor, Founders of the Black Visions Collective
Grassroots organizing is key to transformational change, a necessary, if not sufficient, ingredient. Since George Floyd’s murder at the hands of Minneapolis police, this was never more evident than in the efforts undertaken by community activists to defund the police, an effort that at least initially garnered substantial local political support. For this reason, we invited the co-founders of the organization that was key to pushing for transformative change in Minneapolis, with grassroots efforts that inspired and educated residents – the Black Visions Collective. They will speak about the nature of their efforts, what outcomes their efforts have produced, how to scale up, and where BVC goes from here. Join us for what promises to be a provocative, insightful, and for many, an inspiring discussion.
April 7 -- Tim Black, Director of Consulting, White Bird Clinic and former Operation Coordinator of CAHOOTS
Most agree that the police are asked to do far too much, including tasks that they are not trained to do and so are ill-equipped to do well. The CAHOOTS model is an exciting one. It alleviates the police from undertaking tasks for which they are ill-equipped, especially those related to mental health crises, it does so effectively and without force/violence, and it does so far more cheaply. Join us to learn more about CAHOOTS, how it got started, what they do and how they do it, and why this might be a critical option for other jurisdictions across the country that are trying to address public safety issues without such a heavy reliance on police.
April 14 -- Carlos Garcia, Phoenix, AZ City Council Member and former Executive Director of Puente Human Rights Movement
Puente has a lot in common with the Anti Police-Terror Project. It offers extensive assistance to families impacted by police violence while also advocating for the abolition of police. Council Member Garcia, a former Executive Director, will join us to discuss Puente’s work as well as the strategies that community members have taken to achieve community safety without a heavy reliance on police.
April 21 -- Panel on Public Defenders, including Anthony Benedetti, Kimberly Clark, Porsha-Shaf’on Venable, Brendon Woods and Dehlia Umunna (Guest Moderator)
Public defenders play a key role in advocating for people impacted by the criminal legal system, not just on the individual level but for entire communities as well. Hear from a panel of four experts in public defense from around the country, engaging in a discussion on how to reduce harms and increase public safety for communities most negatively affected by enforcement, legal, and penal system policies. Panelists will discuss their specific efforts in the Bronx New York, Alameda County California, Massachusetts, and Washington DC around mental health, social work models, trauma-informed training, and also efforts to challenge unjust and often unconstitutional practices, including those assessments of fines and fees, pretrial detention and bail, and stop and frisk.
April 28 -- Panel of Mayors, including Joseph Curtatone, Mayor of Somerville, MA and Kathy Sheehan, Mayor of Albany, NY
It would appear that mayors are well-positioned to help create safer communities, reimagined in the current moment. Not surprisingly, however, this is no easy task, and mayors across the country are struggling to reform systems that have defined real change for decades. Join us as we discuss with Mayors Curtatone and Sheehan what efforts are underfoot in their cities to affect the kind of change needed in this moment, what roadblocks they have faced as well as how they have addressed these (or hope to), what their efforts have yielded in terms of results, and what comes next. This will be an exciting way to end a year’s worth of stimulating and insightful, if difficult discussions. Please join us!