CCNY Black History Symposium Examines 鈥楥arceral鈥 State

海角社区 Black Studies Program presents a symposium, 鈥淐onfronting the Carceral State II: Activists, Scholars and the Exonerated Speak,鈥 1 鈥 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 14, in The Great Hall of Shepard Hall, 160 Convent Ave., New York.  The event, consisting of two panels of activists and scholars plus a book signing, is free and open to the public.
    
The symposium builds upon the work begun by 鈥淐onfronting the Carceral State: Policing and Punishment in Modern U.S. History,鈥 a symposium held in March 2010 at Rutgers University. At that conference, it was made abundantly clear that the mass incarceration of the poor and people of color was an issue that demanded not only study but action.
    
鈥淐onfronting the Carceral State II鈥 is intended to inform and inspire study and action. All are welcome to join the audience and engage the panelists and each other in the discussion.  The event program follows:

1 鈥 2 p.m. Reception and book signing for participating authors.

2 鈥 4 p.m. Panel One: Historical Perspectives:

Dr. Yohuru R. Williams, associate professor of African-American history, Fairfield University, moderator: "I Am Troy Davis: The Execution Narrative and the Politics of Race in 21st Century America."

Dr. Donna Murch, associate professor of history, Rutgers University: 鈥淭owards a Social History of Crack: Drugs and Youth Culture in the Age of Reagan.鈥

Dr. Heather Thompson, associate professor of history, Temple University: 鈥淓nding Today鈥檚 Carceral Crisis: Lessons From History.鈥

Dr. Khalil Gibran Muhammad, director, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: "Occupied Blackness: Urban Policing and the Inevitability of Stop and Frisk."
 
4 鈥 6 p.m. Panel Two: Activists and the Exonerated Speak:

Dr. Johanna Fernandez, assistant professor of Black and Hispanic Studies, Baruch College, moderator: 鈥淭he New Phase in the Struggle to Release Mumia.鈥

Javier Cardona, arts & education director, Rehabilitation Through The Arts: 鈥淒oing Hope: Applying the Arts to Rehearse and Re-Create Life Within And Outside Prison.鈥

Dr. Ruth Wilson Gilmore, professor of geography, CUNY Graduate Center: 鈥淭he Popular Front Against Mass Incarceration: Movement, Perils, Prospects.鈥

King Downing, program analyst, American Friends Service Committee: 鈥淒oing Justice Work.鈥

Felix A. Navarro, Jr., Leaders Against Systemic Injustice (LASI), City College Student Organization: 鈥淥pening The Eyes Of The Youth.鈥

Vanessa Potkin, senior staff attorney, The Innocence Project: 鈥淎ddressing Wrongful Convictions.鈥

Raymond Santana and Korey Wise, 鈥淓xonerees From The Central Park Jogger鈥檚 Case.鈥

6 鈥 7 p.m. Reception and book signing for participants.

For more information, contact Professor Venus Green, 212-650-8656,
vgreen@ccny.cuny.edu . To RSVP, please call 212-650-8117.
 

MEDIA CONTACT

Ellis Simon
p: 212.650.6460
e: esimon@ccny.cuny.edu