Michelle Alexander Event: The New Jim Crow in Denver

The Veterans of Hope, with the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and others co-sponsors are bringing

Professor Michelle Alexander to Denver February 22-24, 2011

 

     

A civil rights advocate and litigator, Professor Alexander, in her book, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, makes a case that a new legal caste system is dangerously alive in America. In the “age of colorblindness” a felon is placed in a lifelong caste system with penalties and restrictions much like the Jim Crow system of old. Even more importantly, she challenges “we the people” to be concerned and committed in responding to the destructive realities of the “war on drugs” and the mass incarceration with a social movement. Professor Alexander and her message have struck a powerful chord throughout the nation.

 

Professor Alexander holds degrees from Vanderbilt University and the Stanford Law School.  She was the recipient of the 2005 Soros Justice Fellowship and now holds a joint appointment at the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity and the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. Earlier she served as director of the Racial Justice Project at the ACLU of Northern California, and directed the Civil Rights Clinics at Stanford Law School, where she was an associate professor. She is a former law clerk for Justice Harry Blackmun on the U.S. Supreme Court, and has appeared as a commentator on CNN, MSNBC, NPR, and PBS. 

 

The following is a schedule of events in Denver. These events are free and open to the public.

 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 – 4-6pm – Professor Michelle Alexander presents – Mass Incarceration: A Challenge to the Profession of Law. A Q&A and book signing will follow at the University of Denver, Sturm College of Law Forum, 2255 E. Evans, Denver.

 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 – 11-1:30p – Brown Bag Lunch and Conversation with Professor Alexander – Words of Wisdom, Actions of Hope: A Challenge to Communities of Faith – Iliff School of Theology - Great Hall, 2201 S. University Blvd., Denver.    Space is limited so please RSVP to 303-765-3194.

 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 – 7-9pm – Public Forum – Park Hill United Methodist Church, 5209 Montview Avenue (near the corner of Montview & Glencoe), Denver. Professor Alexander will present: A Challenge to the Denver Community. Dr. Rachel Harding will moderate a panel discussion and open a community response period. Panelists include Michelle Alexander, Christie Donner, Executive Director of CCJRC and Francisco Gallardo of GRASP (Gang Rescue and Support Project).

 

Thursday, February 24, 2011 – 10:30a-12:00p – Manual High School, 1700 E. 28^th Avenue, Denver – High school students will ask Prof. Alexander questions about her book and she will respond with A Challenge to the Youth Community. 

For more information or to RSVP for any of the events, please call 303-765-3194 or vohproject@iliff.edu.

 

A Michelle Alexander video link:

 

http://video.wpt2.org/video/1748253821/