Saturday, February 21, 2015

Panel Discussion on Decarceration

Here is a press release on Tuesday's event:

"Decarcerating Plainfield and NJ Youth" will be the theme of a panel discussion at the Plainfield Free Public Library on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 6 p.m. in the Louise Davis meeting room.

Several local and statewide organizations are joining forces and inviting the public to participate.

Plainfield Keep Youth and Streets Safe (KYSS) which was formed to call for an end to street violence in Plainfield, the statewide Decarcerate the Garden State, Plainfield Peoples Organization for Progress and the Plainfield View blog site edited by David Rutherford who is also a newly elected school board member are joining ranks to bring this discussion to town.

According to a Facebook event announcement, they have joined forces to co-sponsor a panel discussion on the impact of mass incarceration on the city of Plainfield and on the youth of New Jersey.  They plan to also discuss "the need for a unified movement to bring about the end of the destructive system of mass incarceration and the need for youth to be at the forefront of that effort."

This event is absolutely free and open to the public.

Sabrina Lyttleton, a co founder of the Plainfield KYSS organization along with Steven Hatcher, a representative of the Peoples Organization for progress, and Bob Witanek of Decarcerate the Garden State, as well as other possible speakers, will be addressing the audience and explaining their involvement and educating those in attendance of "the heart breaking and astonishing injustices that are the reality today." Ms. Lyttleton states that explaining why and how Plainfield citizens, especially the youth should and can get involved is a priority of the evening.

The organizers also hope to use the event to launch a survey of the youth of Plainfield and beyond about the attitudes, fears, and understanding of the mass incarceration issue.

KYSS founders sound off:

“This fight is personal” says Sabrina “I’m raising a son in a society that is designed for him to fail. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't fight for his rights? It’s every mother’s responsibility to protect their child the best they can. My involvement in this struggle is me protecting my child.

Nia Ali who previously spoke at the Tour de Decarcerate says “Learning all that I’m learning now….I feel like so much has been kept from me. ….it’s my responsibility to share with the generations after me so they aren’t kept in the dark”

Amanda Garcia passionately explains “The Decarceration of NJ is of great importance and has essential relevancy to Humanity. As humans who still exist in society, we should be aware of the negative attributes that have been created before us to deter us from prospering yet to be prosecuted and expressing the magnitude of inequality amongst the uneducated minorities.”

KYSS has a facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KyssinPlainfield

Decarcerate the Garden State has an active blog site at http://decarceratenj.blogspot.com/ and a website athttp://DecarcerateNJ.org and a group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/DecarcerateNJ/

Plainfield view blogs regularly on Plainfield issues at:  https://plainfieldview.wordpress.com/

For more information,s please call David Rutherford, (201) 637-3575 or e-mail
Sabrina Lyttleton at Sabrinalyttleton@yahoo.com
More information on the event is at the Facebook event page https://www.facebook.com/events/1402605013368124/

1 comment:

  1. Absolutely the best way to stop young people from being jailed is for the rest of us to enjoy what they do. That is by cursing alot, walking in the middle of the streets, let your friends and neighbors come into you home and steal stuff and most of all do not go to school. Lets show how living this way will lead to a happy people world wide.

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