Tag Archives: the New Jim Crow

Social Justice Calendar

Faith and Social Justice, , , , , ,
It’s been a busy week, highlighted by events surrounding the exhibit Freedom Summer, starting with the lecture by civil rights organizer Bob Moses (at left and reported here)bob moses library 15627635898_42dccf5699_z
And more to come —
Garden Theatre hosts a free screening of the documentary on Freedom Summer on Sunday, November 23, 1 p.m. There may be some tickets left at Eventbrite, or just show up and hope.
The Freedom Summer exhibit continues at the Carl A. Fields Center from Tuesday, November 25 to Friday, December 5. 
NIOT hosts its monthly Continuing Conversations on Race at the Princeton Public Library on Monday, December 1, at 7 p.m. 
Lawrence Graham, an attorney who writes about race, class, and privilege, speaks at Princeton University on Tuesday, December 2. 
A screening of the documentary “15 to Life” will be at the library on Wednesday, December 3, co-sponsored by The Campaign to End the New Jim Crow, Princeton & Trenton chapter.
There is much to be thankful for, and much to improve…

From Little Rock — to the Moral Monday Rally

Dance and the other arts, Faith and Social Justice, , , , ,

little rock

Passage Theatre in Trenton is doing a play on Little Rock, the famous school segregation case that cracked the Jim Crow rules. The play has been extended through November 2, with performances Thursday through Sunday.  Originally it closed the day before the Moral Monday Rally, sponsored by The Campaign to End the New Jim Crow – Trenton and Princeton. The campaign aims to reform mass incarceration practices that now mimic the old Jim Crow laws.

The play was  previewed by Ted Otten in the Times of Trenton and reviewed by Simon Saltzman in U.S. 1 Newspaper, quoting him:

An integrated cast of nine gifted performers not only portray the students but many both black and white characters as the play progresses over the tumultuous period from September, 1957, to graduation day in May of 1958…

Touching personal narratives segue into searing and scalding confrontations. What is remarkable is how little use there is for dramatic contrivance. There is no need considering the horrific realities that these students confronted and have been recorded.

It runs through November 2 at Passage Theatre’s Mill Hill Playhouse and I’m really hoping to get down there. SAFE is the word for parking across the street from the jewelbox theater, no worries on that score. Saltzman warns that it’s nearly three hours long, maybe the 3 p.m. matinees on 10/25 or 10/26 will work best.

As for the rally, it is Monday, October 27, noon to 2 p.m. on the steps of the New Jersey State House in Trenton. Parking is available at the state house or the Trenton Wyndham Hotel (follow the signs from Route 1 to the hotel). Say the organizers (and I)

END the criminalization of our youth
REMOVE barriers to re-entry
REDUCE the prison population, END torture and abuse
INVEST in the social safety net (schools, housing, jobs)

Rally_End_Mass_Incarceration_102714

 

Debtors Prisons Here?

Faith and Social Justice

St_Briavels_Castle_Debtors_Prison

Debtors prisons in the U.S.? Surely not.

Yet investigations by NPR say that courts nationwide are sending the indigent to prison because they can’t pay court fines. Click here for a story by NPR’s Joseph Shapiro.

Surely not in Princeton.

But I saw how it might possibly, just maybe, happen. Last year I went to traffic court and watched people present their sad stories to the judge. “Pay your fine before the end of the day,” was the threat, “or you go to jail.” No money? no credit card? “Call some friends,” was the advice.

I didn’t stick around until the end of the day to see if anybody ended up in the hoosegow. And traffic court judges probably do need to use harsh threats for deadbeats. They are within their rights to do that. According to NPR, it is left up to the judge to figure out who has the money to pay and who is just crying poor.

So small a matter as a speeding ticket or a parking ticket is no problem for me, but could be a very big problem for someone struggling to pay rent. If you could pay your parking ticket right away, your court costs didn’t double. If you could pay a lawyer, you might get the traffic ticket charges reduced. If you couldn’t, you might lose your job because you can’t drive.

A judge in a Philadelphia suburb, according to WHYY Newsworks reporter Emma Jacobs, is unfairly targeting the poor , sending people directly to jail without the opportunity to get a lawyer. Click here for the story.

I don’t know whether our local judges — in Princeton, in Mercer County, in New Jersey — are sending vast numbers of people to jail for their inability to pay traffic court costs. I don’t know that any of our judges are making prejudiced decisions. (Full disclosure: Through Not in Our Town Princeton, I support the Princeton/Trenton campaign against what was labeled The New Jim Crow by Michele Alexander. Statistics show that black people go to jail for offenses for which whites go free.)

I do know that on that day in traffic court, the drivers of color were the ones having trouble paying the fines. The judge was not going easier on the white drivers — it was a classic case of the “rich get richer and the poor get poorer. ”

At least New Jersey does not charge its inmates for room and board. Click here for a state by state survey of fees.

NPR continues its coverage this week in Morning Edition and All Thing Considered.

(Image:  mid-Victorian depiction of the debtors prison at St Briavel Castle courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)