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Lynching Then, Lynching Now
The Campaign to End the Death Penalty announces the launch of its sixth annual speaking Tour, “Lynching Then, Lynching Now: The roots of racism and the death penalty in America.”
This 2009-2010 event will be a teach-in tour on the historic link between the death penalty and lynching in the United States. Today there is a critical need to rebuild civil rights struggles and dismantle this country’s execution chambers. This tour will bring together those who have been freed from death row, activists and scholars to explore the role of racism in our criminal justice system, and how and why the death penalty and unjust sentencing can be abolished.
SPEAKERS INCLUDE
ALAN BEAN
Executive Director, Friends of Justice
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LAWRENCE HAYES
Former New York State death row prisoner
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STEPHEN BRIGHT
President, Southern Center for Human Rights
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BRIAN JONES
Author, “King’s Last Fight”
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MARK CLEMENTS
Former police torture victim sentenced as a juvenile to life without parole
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RONALD KITCHEN
Former Illinois death row prisoner, exonerated in 2009
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MARTINA CORREIA
Sister of Troy Davis; Troy is on Georgia’s Death Row and was recently granted a new hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court
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YUSEF SALAAM
Exonerated in the Central Park Jogger case. Board member, Campaign to End the Death Penalty
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JACKIE GOLDSBY
Author, "A Spectacular Secret: the Cultural Logic of Lynching in American Life and Literature"
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DARBY TILLIS
Former Illinois death row prisoner |
The changing political landscape has created new openings to discuss the continued impact of racism in America on our criminal "injustice" system. There is a thirst among many people to learn about historical movements and to get a deeper understanding of our struggles today. That's why the teach-in aspect of this year's tour is important: where possible, hosts are encouraged to broaden the scope of the event beyond a panel to include an additional workshop on a related topic with local speakers and activists. Adding a workshop or two would enable participants to delve more deeply into the subject matter.
Ideas for workshop topics could be, “Why is race intertwined with the justice system?” “False confessions, tortured confession: why do they occur?” “King and the significance of the Civil Rights movement” or workshop titles could relate to a specific case such as “The frame-up of the Scottsboro Boys.” Consider speakers appropriate to the theme, such as anti-racist activists, historians, local family members of death row prisoners, and exonerated.
Our national tour organizer, Lee Wengraf, can coordinate with you to book national tour speakers, and work with you on scheduling and promotional materials. For example, we can provide you with a glossy poster to use, free of charge. You can also download Lynching Then, Lynching Now tour poster and print copies yourself (Note: The file does not display correctly in Apple's Preview. Use the free Adobe Reader instead). Start looking at your calendars now to pick a date: anyone interested in bringing the Tour to your city, please email Lee at nyc@nodeathpenalty.org to inquire about speakers and setting up a date for your event.
The website at nodeathpenalty.org will have ongoing information about the tour, including speakers. There is also a tour blog that will be updated with speakers, as well as dates for tour stops, and reports from different cities on their events, so stay tuned! This tour promises to be educational and inspirational, and a great way to build our movement--start your planning now!
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