Listen to this post:
We’ve known for ages in this country that our justice system is not exactly just. Some people don’t want to face a critique of it because we do have a lot of freedoms compared to some other countries. But this is precisely why critiques are a good thing in a democracy. They point out that justice is not dished out equally for all people here, even when it seems more and more to be equal on paper. When you’re on the winning side of the justice system (or you’ve been privileged enough to never get caught up in it), it’s easy to believe that the system is working as it’s supposed to. As long as Black, African-American, and Brown people, poor people, disabled people, and trans people are found in prisons and jails in a higher concentration than they are out in public (they are), we have proof it’s not working in a just way. As long as disabled people are routinely denied supports such as ASL interpreters, life-sustaining medications, psychiatric medications, and other accommodations at the time of arrest and while incarcerated, we do not have justice. As long as Black people are being incarcerated on BS charges like Sandra Bland and Jamycheal Mitchell, and are dying in their jail cells, we do not have justice.
Exciting news for people who want to get this message out more widely, the 3rd annual Justice on Trial Film Festival is coming to LA in October to Mount Saint Mary’s University. Read about the films that will be shown at justiceontrialfilmfestival.org.
The festival will present a series of documentaries that address the impact the prison industrial complex is having particularly on people of color and the socio-economically disadvantaged. This year’s festival will explore redemption, reintegration and restoration. Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler will be the festival’s keynote speaker. In addition, UCLA and Columbia Law School Professor of Law Kimberlé Crenshaw will give a keynote, “Say Her Name,” followed by a female empowerment panel. There will be networking, panels, a mixer, and public testimonials. The festival looks amazing.
October 23-25, 2015
Mount Saint Mary’s University
Doheny Campus
Los Angeles, CA
Follow Justice On Trial Film Festival 2015 on Facebook for clips, posts, and updates.
And take a look at their Supporters page online to learn more about some incredible organizations partnering on the festival, including A New Way of Life Reentry Project for formerly incarcerated women, All Of Us Or None, fighting for formerly- and currently-incarcerated people and their families, and many more organizations and groups. I’m hoping that because the dialogue is centered around films, people who haven’t been engaging with these topics before will come in to watch and join the dedicated activists, advocates, and fighters for social justice.