Read with PSJ!
In the coming weeks, we'll get together to read and learn together, and you're invited!
Based on a request from several of our members, Partnership for Safety and Justice is hosting a reading group on August 19 and September 2. We will meet from 6:00 to 8:00 in the evening at our office and enjoy dessert and coffee along with some excellent discussions.
We decided to structure our first-ever reading group around our four program areas: Crime Survivors Program, Beyond Barriers, the Prison Program, and Safety and Sentencing. We looked for selections that were readable and engaging (or not too dry and academic) and that highlighted interesting areas of our work.
The Schedule:
August 19: The New Jim Crow and "Is This the End of the War on Crime?"
September 2: After Silence and Couldn't Keep it to Myself
If you're interested in joining us for the discussions, please e-mail Caylor or call 503-335-8449 to get copies of the readings. Here are descriptions of each of the selections:
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. We will be reading the chapter “The New Jim Crow.” This chapter crosses over between our Prison Program and our reentry program, Beyond Barriers. Across the country, African Americans make up the largest portion of the prison population and are incarcerated at higher rates than any other group. Ms. Alexander examines how the War on Drugs in particular has created this situation and how the barriers to living and participating in society after incarceration function in similar ways to Jim Crow laws in the South.
“Is this the end of the War on Crime?” by Sasha Abramsky, The Nation. This article connects with our sentencing reform work in our Safety and Sentencing program. Published in June, this article outlines smart on crime policies being adopted in other states to reduce prison population and the costs of incarceration.
After Silence: Rape & My Journey Back by Nancy Venable Raine. This book is a personal memoir of one woman who has survived rape and its aftermath, and the chapter “Victoria” touches on how people can help their loved ones who have survived crime and the ways in which traumatic events affect the brain. Readers should be advised that although the chapter is not graphic, it is very personal.
Couldn’t Keep it to Myself: Wally Lamb and the Women of York Correctional Institution, Testimonies from our Imprisoned Sisters. As the number of people in prison across the country continues to climb, women are the fastest growing segment of the prison population. Starting with the personal story in the chapter “Thefts,” we’ll discuss some of the issues unique to women and incarceration.
