Middlebury College student group hosts weekend workshop on race, class and the death penalty Nov. 16-19
To follow is a schedule of events:
“Double Standards of Justice: A Weekend Workshop on Race, Class and the Death Penalty” Nov. 16-19
Thursday, Nov. 16
7:30 p.m.
Film screening of “The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison, USA”
Winner of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury prize and the New York and Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Documentary of 1998, “The Farm” follows the lives of six inmates in Louisiana’s infamous Angola Prison.
Room 220, McCardell Bicentennial Hall on Bicentennial Way off College Street (Route 125)
Friday, Nov. 17
12:15 p.m.
Discussion: A Structural View of Race in the Criminal Justice System
This discussion will explore the development and practice of institutionalized racism and investigate how the “tough on crime” era beginning in the 1970s has exacerbated racial disparities in the criminal justice system.
Château Grand Salon, located north of College Street (Route 125)
4:30 p.m.
Keynote address: “From Death to Life: The Horrors of Death Row”
Darby Tillis
Tillis spent more than nine years on death row for a crime he did not commit. He was the first man to be exonerated from Illinois’ death row on Dec. 21, 1987, and will share his experiences with the criminal system.
Château Grand Salon, located north of College Street (Route 125)
8 p.m.
Art Show/Silent Auction
Proceeds to be donated to The Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement.
Palana House, located in Carr Hall on College Street (Route 125)
Saturday, Nov. 18
10:30 a.m.
Panel Discussion: “When Justice Isn’t Blind to Race and Class”
Panelists: Darby Tillis, Gloria Rubac, Njeri Shakur and Jen Williams. Moderated by Middlebury College student organizer Liz Lyon.
Château Grand Salon, located north of College Street (Route 125)
12:15 p.m.
Workshop: “Prison-Industrial Complex 101”
Facilitated by Prison Moratorium Project
Putting the pieces together, participants will see a bigger picture of the prison-industrial complex (PIC), how it affects them and their communities, and how they can help to dismantle it.
Palana House, located in Carr Hall on College Street (Route 125)
2:30 p.m.
Workshop: “The Legacy of Slavery: Executions”
Facilitated by Gloria Rubac and Njeri Shakur of Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement
Participants will discuss the history of the death penalty, why it became such an integral part of life in the South, and how people can take action against it.
Palana House, located in Carr Hall on College Street (Route 125)
Sunday, Nov. 19
11:30 a.m.
Discussion: “Don’t Mess With Texas: Plantation-Style Justice in the Lone Star State”
Activists from the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement
A discussion with Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement activists, including Joyce Guidry, mother of Howard Guidry, who is being held unjustly on death row in Texas.
Palana House, located in Carr Hall on College Street (Route 125)
1:30 p.m.
Workshop: “A World Without”
Facilitated by the Prison Moratorium Project
Participants in this workshop will be asked to think and step outside the box as they are led through an exercise that envisions a world without prisons or police.
Palana House, located in Carr Hall on College Street (Route 125)
8 p.m.
Candlelight Vigil
In solidarity for the men and women unjustly imprisoned worldwide.
Mead Chapel
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact symposium organizer Liz Lyon at 802-443-6674 or elyon@middlebury.edu.