Like much of the nation, PYM Meetings and Friends Schools are deeply interested in America’s alarming incarceration rate. Here is some Pew survey data and articles on the topic from the PEW Research Center and the Senate that detail these concerns from 2012 on.
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is organizing a three-day program of events to further focus interested Quakers on the issue. These days of action align with the 49th anniversary of the Attica prison uprising. The uprising involved more than 2,000 people incarcerated in upstate New York’s Attica Correctional Facility. Prisoners took over the yard of the correctional facility to advocate for freedoms, wages, education access, medical care and more.
The event kicks off with an educational webinar #FromAtticaToAbolition on September 8 from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. ET. This call will be in English with an interpretation of Spanish. It will also have closed captioning.
On September 9th at 2 pm ET, AFSC, Detention Watch Network, and Standing up for Racial Justice will bring people together with a phone zap.
The Days of Action will close with a “Call to reflection and worship to #FreeThemAll” on September 13 from 7:30 to 9:00 ET. This call will be in English with an interpretation of Spanish. It will also have closed captioning.
Friends may also be interested in learning more about Quaker-led criminal justice or healing projects at the Center for Returning Citizens or Every Murder is Real
