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New Criminal Justice Film Series from The Marshall Project Highlights Chicago Witnesses to System’s Injustices

CHICAGO DEFENDER — Harold Washington Library’s Cindy Pritzker Auditorium was a full house at the opening screening of a new local series focusing on injustices in the criminal justice system. On Sept. 12, The Marshall Project released 15 video testimonies of Chicago voices affected by the justice system, “We Are Witnesses: Chicago,” is the latest installment of the nonprofit news organization’s award-winning short film series “We Are Witnesses” which explores the nature of crime, punishment and forgiveness.

Published

5 years ago

September 20, 2019

Oakland Post

By Ariel Parrella-Aureli

Harold Washington Library’s Cindy Pritzker Auditorium was a full house at the opening screening of a new local series focusing on injustices in the criminal justice system. On Sept. 12, The Marshall Project released 15 video testimonies of Chicago voices affected by the justice system, “We Are Witnesses: Chicago,” is the latest installment of the nonprofit news organization’s award-winning short film series “We Are Witnesses” which explores the nature of crime, punishment and forgiveness.

Produced and directed by Maggie Bowman and Stacy Robinson, the series is in partnership with Kartemquin Films and Illinois Humanities, and is part of “Envisioning Justice,” the Humanities’ city-wide initiative to foster a stronger criminal justice conversation through arts.

The opening screening at the downtown auditorium was presented by WBEZ’s criminal justice reporter Shannon Heffernan and showed four of the 15 short videos. A panel discussion with the witnesses, moderated by Carroll Bogert, president of The Marshall Project, followed the screening.

Bogert, a native Chicagoan who had a career in journalism abroad before returning home, shared her hopes that the audience will better understand the flawed criminal justice system by watching these testimonies and, ultimately, support responsible journalism fighting for reform. “By being an audience, you are assisting in understanding these issues better,” Bogart said.

The premiere featured the stories of Carrie Steiner, a former Chicago police officer; Xavier McElrath-Bey, a previously incarcerated teenager; Dr. Nneka Jones Tapia, the former warden of Cook County Jail; and the Pendletons, parents of a slain daughter who received extensive media attentionafter she was murdered almost seven years ago.

Each witness shared their deeply personal and painful experience with the criminal justice system — and how they have worked to heal their wounds and help others.

“I found a voice after Hadiya was murdered, and I discovered a way to draw shape and color to the overall experience,” Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton said. “I took my voice and I try to use it for as many speaking opportunities as possible to try and help people understand what it is like to be subject to a crime such as this.”

McElrath-Bey, who as a young teenager spent 13 years in prison after his role in the killing of Pedro Martinez, was released at 26 years of age and met the Martinez family in 2016. They forgave him and now are friends with McElrath-Bey. Through tears, he told the audience how sorry he was for his actions and that to heal from his past, he needed to work on forgiving himself. But despite forgiveness, he said the hurt will never go away.

“I am sorry you had to go through that and I am sorry I was ever a part of something that caused that harm to someone,” he said to the Martinez family, sitting in the front row. “I am also sorry that we live in a society where people feel like they have to do something like that.”

Though it was difficult for McElrath-Bey to share his emotions and retell his story, the family and a friend in the crowd shouted, “We love you, Xavier.” He now works at the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, where he is trying to ban life without parole and other extreme sentences for children.

Much of the discussion centered around ways to end the cycle of gun violence and how to help heal from traumatic events by sharing personal stories.

Jones Tapia, who worked at the Cook County Jail from 2006 to 2018, had the difficult job of speaking to men charged for fatal crimes, like the one that took Hadiya Pendleton’s life. That trauma deeply affected her, she said, just as it does police officers, guards and people on the other side of the system.

“You have to find a way to balance the humanity in a system that is built on a lack of humanity,” Jones Tapia said, recalling her time as warden.

A major aspect of that humanity is destigmatizing mental health and the image of police officers, said Steiner, who was a police officer for 13 years and now runs the First Responders Wellness Center. In her testimony, she said that during her time at CPD, 18 officers killed themselves. “In the mental health field, there are so many stigmas about police officers,” she told the audience.

She is working to help first responders be more open about mental health and cope with the trauma they experience. She also wants people to remember that while officers are trained to make critical decisions and protect communities, constant scrutiny and judgment puts pressure on their shoulders. At the end of the day, they are humans too, she said.

To move forward, McElrath-Bey said teens need to be helped and have better resources. Nathaniel Pendleton said that work starts in the neighborhoods.

“A lot of times we blame our politicians for it and we should not,” Nathaniel Pendleton said. “We have to take our neighborhoods ourselves and go back to each one, teach one.”

“We Are Witnesses: Chicago” is partnered with WBEZ, the Chicago Reader and Univision Chicago, which translated the series into Spanish. Throughout the next three months, The Marshall Project, in collaboration with the Chicago Public library, will hold free screenings and discussions in 23 library branches across the city. To see a full list of the showings, visit the library’s website.

This article originally appeared in the Chicago Defender.

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IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, activist Ramona Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.
The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Once upon a time, Black Americans were simply known as colored people, or Negroes. That is until Ramona Edelin came along. The activist, renowned for her pivotal roles in advancing civil rights, education reform, and community empowerment, died at her D.C. residence last month at the age of 78. Her death, finally confirmed this week by Barnaby Towns, a communications strategist who collaborated with Dr. Edelin, was attributed to cancer.

Born on September 4, 1945, in Los Angeles, California, Edelin’s early years were marked by a commitment to education and social justice. According to her HistoryMakers biography, after graduating from Fisk University with a Bachelor’s degree in 1967, she pursued further studies at the University of East Anglia in England. She earned her master’s degree before completing her Ph.D. at Boston University in 1981.

Edelin’s contributions to academia and activism were manifold. She was pivotal in popularizing the term “African American” alongside Rev. Jesse L. Jackson in the late 1980s.

Jackson had announced the preference for “African American,” speaking for summit organizers that included Dr. Edelin. “Just as we were called Colored, but were not that, and then Negro, but not that, to be called Black is just as baseless,” he said, adding that “African American” “has cultural integrity” and “puts us in our proper historical context.”

Later, Edelin told Ebony magazine, “Calling ourselves African Americans is the first step in the cultural offensive,” while linking the name change to a “cultural renaissance” in which Black Americans reconnected with their history and heritage.

“Who are we if we don’t acknowledge our motherland?” she asked later. “When a child in a ghetto calls himself African American, immediately he’s international. You’ve taken him from the ghetto and put him on the globe.”

The HistoryMakers bio noted that Edelin’s academic pursuits led her to found and chair the Department of African American Studies at Northeastern University, where she established herself as a leading voice.

Transitioning from academia to advocacy, Edelin joined the National Urban Coalition in 1977, eventually ascending to president and CEO. During her tenure, she spearheaded initiatives such as the “Say Yes to a Youngster’s Future” program, which provided crucial support in math, science, and technology to youth and teachers of color in urban areas. Her biography noted that Edelin’s efforts extended nationwide through partnerships with organizations like the National Science Foundation and the United States Department of Education.

President Bill Clinton recognized Edelin’s expertise by appointing her to the Presidential Board on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in 1998. She also co-founded and served as treasurer of the Black Leadership Forum, solidifying her standing as a respected leader in African American communities.

Beyond her professional achievements, Edelin dedicated herself to numerous boards and committees, including chairing the District of Columbia Educational Goals 2000 Panel and contributing to the Federal Advisory Committee for the Black Community Crusade for Children.

Throughout her life, Edelin received widespread recognition for her contributions. Ebony magazine honored her as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, and she received prestigious awards such as the Southern Christian Leadership Award for Progressive Leadership and the IBM Community Executive Program Award.

The post IN MEMORIAM: Ramona Edelin, Influential Activist and Education Advocate, Dies at 78 first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues

NNPA NEWSWIRE — Recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.
The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

4 weeks ago

April 3, 2024

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
@StacyBrownMedia

Tennessee State University (TSU), the state’s only public historically Black college and university (HBCU), faces a tumultuous future as Gov. Bill Lee dissolved its board, a move supported by racist conservatives and MAGA Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly, who follow the lead of the twice-impeached, four-times indicted, alleged sexual predator former President Donald Trump. Educators and others have denounced the move as an attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and a grave setback for higher education.

Critics argue that TSU’s purported financial mismanagement is a manufactured crisis rooted in decades of underinvestment by the state government. They’ve noted that it continues a trend by conservatives and the racist MAGA movement to eliminate opportunities for Blacks in education, corporate America, and the public sector.

Gevin Reynolds, a former speechwriter for Vice President Kamala Harris, emphasizes in an op-ed that TSU’s financial difficulties are not the result of university leadership because a recent audit found no evidence of fraud or malfeasance.

Reynolds noted that the disbanding of TSU’s board is not an isolated incident but part of a broader assault on DE&I initiatives nationwide. Ten states, including Tennessee, have enacted laws banning DE&I policies on college campuses, while governors appointing MAGA loyalists to university trustee positions further undermine efforts to promote inclusivity and equality.

Moreover, recent legislative actions in Tennessee, such as repealing police reform measures enacted after the killing of Tyre Nichols, underscore a troubling trend of undermining local control and perpetuating racist agendas. The new law preventing local governments from restricting police officers’ authority disregards community efforts to address systemic issues of police violence and racial profiling.

The actions echo historical efforts to suppress Black progress, reminiscent of the violent backlash against gains made during the Reconstruction era. President Joe Biden warned during an appearance in New York last month that Trump desires to bring the nation back to the 18th and 19th centuries – in other words, to see, among other things, African Americans back in the chains of slavery, women subservient to men without any say over their bodies, and all voting rights restricted to white men.

The parallels are stark, with white supremacist ideologies used to justify attacks on Black institutions and disenfranchise marginalized communities, Reynolds argued.

In response to these challenges, advocates stress the urgency of collective action to defend democracy and combat systemic racism. Understanding that attacks on institutions like TSU are symptomatic of broader threats to democratic norms, they call for increased civic engagement and voting at all levels of government.

The actions of people dedicated to upholding the principles of inclusivity, equity, and justice for all will determine the outcome of the ongoing fight for democracy, Reynolds noted. “We are in a war for our democracy, one whose outcome will be determined by every line on every ballot at every precinct,” he stated.

The post Tennessee State University Board Disbanded by MAGA Loyalists as Assault on DE&I Continues first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy

May 24, 2023 – Walker West Music Academy gets an early start on expansion. Join us for a Wednesday episode of The …
The post Braxton Haulcy and the Expansion of Walker|West Music Academy first appeared on BlackPressUSA.