Senator Kamala Harris, Michael K. Williams, Tichina Arnold, John Forté, DA Larry Krasner, Shaun King and Many More Come Together to Push for Criminal Justice Reform on May 9th in Washington, DC at “Vote for Justice”
Event will launch innovative campaign to inspire people to vote for justice at the polls.
WASHINGTON, DC (May 7, 2018) – The Justice Roundtable , a Washington-based coalition of over 100 justice organizations and advocates advancing federal criminal justice policy reforms, announces the launch of a six-month social media impact campaign, Vote for Justice.
The campaign will kick off with a May 9th event, Vote for Justice: An Evening of Empowerment with Artists and Activists at Washington DC’s Newseum. The event will take audience members through a historic exploration of the different sectors where the criminal punishment system wreaks havoc; identify the generational, human and equity costs of mass incarceration; and offer solutions to reform our criminal justice system.
The event will be hosted by Tichina Arnold and Michael Eric Dyson .
Readings and testimonials will be performed by Senator Kamala Harris, Michael K. Williams, Congressman Cedric Richmond, Congressman Lacy Clay, State Attorney Kim Foxx, District Attorney Larry Krasner, Open Society Foundations President Patrick Gaspard, Mic Video Columnist Brittany Packnett, Shaun King, Desmond Meade, 11-year-old Naomi Wadler, Carmen Perez, Kemba Smith, Jamira Burley, Jessica Perez, Judith Browne Dianis, former NFL player Donté Stallworth, Charlene Carruthers, Udi Ofer and more. The evening will feature performances by Grammy-nominated artist John Forté, Goapele, Raheem Devaughn and Wes Felton, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Ayanna Gregory and Ka'Ba Akintunde .
There will be an open-press red carpet. In partnership with Mic, the full program will be live-streamed , and Mic will spotlight featured participants in opinion columns following the event, bringing the topics of the night to life in video.
The Vote for Justice campaign will bring art and culture together with education and civic engagement, encouraging the public to imagine what justice looks like in the months leading up to the midterm elections. At the same time, Vote for Justice will normalize progressive narratives on criminal justice system transformation by making the concept of justice personal and proximate to voters and potential voters.
The Vote for Justice campaign will highlight the overarching political, economic and human costs of our country’s criminal punishment system,” says Justice Roundtable Convener Nkechi Taifa . “The campaign will challenge celebrity, athlete and policy influencers to inspire and mobilize their fan bases to ‘vote for justice’ at the polls. We hope to lift up the work of advocates on the ground, who push back on a daily basis against policies and practices that have allowed mass incarceration to flourish.”
Following the Vote for Justice event, The Justice Roundtable will lead a public call to action for justice reform, titled #JusticeLooksLike. The action-oriented, social media challenge will lead up the 2018 midterm election. The nonpartisan Vote for Justice event and campaign will not endorse or support any particular candidate.
About The Justice Roundtable
The Justice Roundtable is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 organizations working to reform federal criminal justice laws and policies. Founded in 2002, the Roundtable’s mission is to bring value to the Justice Movement by coordinating the federal legislative and advocacy efforts of the Washington criminal justice advocacy community.
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