Jail the Bankers or Abolish the Jails?
Alexis Goldstein, Natasha Lennard, Joe Macaré & Liliana Segura
Wednesday 01 August, 2012
7:30pm, $6/Rsvp
Brecht Forum
451 West Street
It is now almost uncontested that in the United States the most privileged tier of society gets impunity while those on the bottom get criminalized and punished largely for their marginalized place in our society.
In the last year, many activists within Occupy Wall Street have begun with an analysis of economic inequality focused on the unpunished excesses of the financial sector, but become increasingly concerned with issues such police repression (of both activists and communities of color) and mass incarceration.
How do these issues interconnect, and what are some possible solutions? Can those who want regulatory bodies to bring bankers to justice and those who seek a radical overhaul or dismantling of America's criminal justice system work together?
Discussing these questions will be:
Alexis Goldstein, an Occupy Wall Street activist who wrote an acclaimed account of her time as a Wall Street professional (http://nplusonemag.com/leaving-wall-street). She teaches web development at Girl Develop It (http://girldevelopit.com/) and has appeared regularly on MSNBC's Up with Chris Hayes.
Natasha Lennard, who has reported for Truthout on topics including prison noise demonstrations (http://truth-out.org/news/item/9132-outside-a-womens-prison-in-new-york-for-mothers-day) and the limits of what marijuana decriminalization can accomplish (http://truth-out.org/news/item/9809-marijuana-decriminalization-wont-kill-discrimination), in addition to writing regularly about the Occupy movement for Salon (http://www.salon.com/writer/natasha_lennard/).
Liliana Segura, an editor at The Nation Magazine, where she largely focuses on prisons, harsh sentencing, and the criminal justice system. She was previously an AlterNet staff writer and editor of Rights & Liberties and World Special Coverage. She is on the board of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and the Applied Research Center.
Moderator: Joe Macaré, Development and Communications Associate at Truthout and an editor and contributor at the Occupied Chicago Tribune.
In the last year, many activists within Occupy Wall Street have begun with an analysis of economic inequality focused on the unpunished excesses of the financial sector, but become increasingly concerned with issues such police repression (of both activists and communities of color) and mass incarceration.
How do these issues interconnect, and what are some possible solutions? Can those who want regulatory bodies to bring bankers to justice and those who seek a radical overhaul or dismantling of America's criminal justice system work together?
Discussing these questions will be:
Alexis Goldstein, an Occupy Wall Street activist who wrote an acclaimed account of her time as a Wall Street professional (http://nplusonemag.com/leaving-wall-street). She teaches web development at Girl Develop It (http://girldevelopit.com/) and has appeared regularly on MSNBC's Up with Chris Hayes.
Natasha Lennard, who has reported for Truthout on topics including prison noise demonstrations (http://truth-out.org/news/item/9132-outside-a-womens-prison-in-new-york-for-mothers-day) and the limits of what marijuana decriminalization can accomplish (http://truth-out.org/news/item/9809-marijuana-decriminalization-wont-kill-discrimination), in addition to writing regularly about the Occupy movement for Salon (http://www.salon.com/writer/natasha_lennard/).
Liliana Segura, an editor at The Nation Magazine, where she largely focuses on prisons, harsh sentencing, and the criminal justice system. She was previously an AlterNet staff writer and editor of Rights & Liberties and World Special Coverage. She is on the board of the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and the Applied Research Center.
Moderator: Joe Macaré, Development and Communications Associate at Truthout and an editor and contributor at the Occupied Chicago Tribune.