Susan Burton Book Signing Celebrates Legacy of Formerly ... · many of the harmful effects of mass incarceration, such as racism and over-policing. In an Op-Ed piece published in

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Susan Burton signs copies of her recently-published memoir at Laurel Books inOakland, CA on June 5, 2017.

LSPC Newsletter May 2017

Susan Burton Book Signing Celebrates Legacy ofFormerly Incarcerated Leadership

LSPC / All of Us or None was honored tohost Susan Burton on her book signing tourfor her recently published memoirBecoming Ms. Burton: From Prison toRecovery to Leading the Fight forIncarcerated Women. Susan read from herwork and spoke about her journey andactivism to an audience that packed LaurelBook Store in Oakland on June 5, 2017.

Few people have created opportunity to aidand empower so many as Susan Burton.After a life that included her young son runover and killed by Los Angeles police, drug addiction, and multiple periodsin prison, Susan started an organization to provide re-entry housing andassistance to women and their children. Decades later, A New Way Of Life isgoing strong with several houses helping dozens of formerly incarceratedwomen at a time.

The all-woman organizing committee for the reading included LSPCAdministrative Director Hamdiya Cooks-Abdullah, Executive Assistant TinaNunn, Organizer Aaliyah Muhammad, and former Policy Director EndriaRichardson, in addition to Azadeh Zohrabi, National Campaigner for the EllaBaker Center, and Essie Justice Group Founder and Executive Director GinaClayton.

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Becoming Mr. Burton is currently available inhardback from The New Press.

All of Us or None Organizer Aaliyah Muhammadintroduces Susan Burton at Laurel Books inOakland, CA.

A New Way of Life Executive Director Susan Burtonflanked by LSPC Policy Director Marcus McKinney(left) and Executive Director and longtime friendDorsey Nunn.

Susan Burton receives an award of recognition fromLSPC Administrative Director Hamdiya Cooks-Abdullah for all her work for formerly incarceratedwomen. (Photo: Wanda Sabir)

Becoming Ms. Burton: From Prison to Recovery to Leading the Fight forIncarcerated Women by Susan Burton and Cari Lynn, and with a forward byMichelle Alexander, is available from The New Press.

No New Jails

LSPC continues working with other

L-R: Natalia Marques, Diana Block (CaliforniaCoalition for Women Prisoners), Joseph Johnson,Sandra Johnson, Mohamed Shehk (CriticalResistance) at San Francisco City Hall afterspeaking for real alternatives to incarceration.

L-R: LSPC Policy Fellows Joseph Johnson andSandra Johnson, and Intern Natalia Marques speakto the SF Board of Supervisors.

Bay Area activists and organizationsto push back against the rapid jailexpansions across the region. Werecognize that county sheriffs andofficials are perpetuating massincarceration with their desire toexpand and build jails. As a member of the No New SF JailCoalition, we also provide support tothe Contra Costa and AlamedaCounty jail fights. On June 6th,Policy Fellows Sandra Johnson and Joseph Johnson and Intern NataliaMarques provided public comment against the Contra Costa jail expansion.

On June 13th, we spoke to the SanFrancisco Board of Supervisorsagainst the proposed"alternatives" to building a new jail inSan Francisco. While Mayor Lee'sproposal, which includes suchprograms as Law EnforcementAssisted Diversion (LEAD) andelectronic monitoring, appear to bealternatives to incarceration, inreality these programs perpetuatemany of the harmful effects of massincarceration, such as racism andover-policing. In an Op-Ed piece published in theS.F. Examiner, Natalia wrote that"our opposition to jail expansion

should not be used to justify more systems of state surveillance or toincrease law enforcement’s power over marginalized communities." AtLSPC, we continue to fight for community empowerment over building newjails.

2017 National Restorative Justice Conference

All of Us Or None and LSPC made a powerful impact at this year's NationalConference on Community and Restorative Justice, June 16-18 in Oakland,California. AOUON co-founder Linda Evans and California Families AgainstSolitary Confinement organizer Dolores Canales spoke to a packed roomduring the "Formerly Incarcerated Women and Movement Building" panel.Linda, Dolores, and other women spoke to ways in which formerlyincarcerated people practice restorative justice while in prison and whenreturned to our communities.

Staff member Harriette Davis spoke on a panel focusing on"Formerly Incarcerated Women and TraumaHealing". Harriette (seated left in photo) stated, "There is noway to talk about restorative justice without bringing formerlyincarcerated people into the the conversation." As a formerlyincarcerated woman herself, she knows that FIPs are a part ofour communities, and therefore need to be part of communitydialogue. LSPC founder Ellen Barry played an integral role in organizing theconference, ensuring that formerly incarcerated people played an active rolein the conference and participated in many panels. Ellen said that bringingformerly incarcerated people "helped to really shift the ways that people arethinking about restorative justice and trauma healing." LSPC continues toshift the dominant discourse regarding current and formerly incarceratedpeople.

Participants honoring the Ohlone land and theshared space, and invoking peace and justiceduring the Opening Ceremony at the 2017 NACRJConference in Oakland, CA.

LSPC Board Member and CURYJ ExecutiveDirector George Galvis shares ways formerlyincarcerated people create cultura cura (culture ofhealing) in our communities.

Albino Garcia (La Plazita Institute) demonstrateshow pouches of herbs—such as lavender—canhelp relax a person and aid in processing thetrauma of incarceration.

LSPC founder and Development Director EllenBarry takes a brief pause from organizing theconference. Thanks for all your hard work, Ellen!

L-R: LSPC Policy Fellows Joseph Johnson andSandra Johnson, with AOUON co-founder SamBrooks at Juneteenth in Berkeley.

LSPC Intern Alena Yarmosky and Sandra offerinformation and AOUON merchandise to revelers atthe Juneteenth celebration in Berkeley, CA.

Participants pack the room to listen to the "FormerlyIncarcerated Women Building A National MovementRooted In RJ" panel on Friday, June 16.

L-R: Kathy Boudin, Linda Evans, Topeka Sam,Dawn Harrington, and Dolores Canales share theirexperiences organizing formerly incarceratedpeople and families.

Juneteenth

LSPC / All of Us or None was honoredto celebrate Juneteenth with theBerkeley community this year. Thisyear marked our fourteenth yearparticipating in the celebration in theEast Bay.

While many LSPC / All of Us or Nonestaff, interns, and volunteersenjoyed connecting with fellowcommunity members throughout thewarm, near-summer day, PolicyFellow Joseph Johnson merits specialrecognition for his all-day activism:from picking up the canopy at dawn,to hauling remaining supplies back tothe office, and to energeticallyengaging everyone in between—Joseph embodied the best of All ofUs or None at all times.

Hamdiya Cooks-Abdullah, who hasbeen involved in coordinatingAOUON's Juneteenth booth for manyyears, believes in the importance ofcontinually connecting with folks inthe community: "Juneteenth givesour organization an opportunity todirectly engage with the people we serve, and understand how we areserving them well and what we could be doing better."

Solitary Confinement Update: Parole After SHU

About 2,500 prisoners were transferred from SHU (solitary confinement) togeneral population between 2012-2016 as a result of the historic prisonerhunger strikes, CDCR’s administrative reforms, and the federal class actionsettlement in Ashker v. Governor. SHU prisoners who were lifers were neverparoled by the parole board. Now in general population, former-SHU liferswere hopeful that their prospects for parole would increase. They are olderprisoners with no recent violence who have served longer prison sentencesthan is the norm for their conviction offenses.

However, many are receiving psychologicalassessments that rate them as “high risk” ofviolence. While CDCR is no longer using prisoners’gang validations as grounds to house them in theSHU, these validations are used in other ways topenalize prisoners. Gang validations are oftenbased on flimsy evidence and remain in aprisoner’s record despite the passage of time.Parole psychologists read more into a validation,and other confidential information in a prisoner’sfile, than is warranted. These prisoners are findingthat the parole commissioners who hear theircases are pressuring them to debrief. They aretreating a gang validation as presumptive groundsto find them unsuitable for parole in the sameway they denied these prisoners parole while inSHU.

The Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition, which formed in 2011 tosupport the 2011 hunger strikers, is continuing to support these prisonersas they transition to general population. LSPC is a founder and activeparticipant in that coalition. In 2016, the coalition formed a parolecommittee to work on parole issues. We are collecting and analyzing currentparole hearing transcripts and psychological reports. We wrote a positionpaper urging the Board of Parole Hearings to adopt a different approach forthese prisoners. We have met with the Office of the Inspector General,Board of Parole Hearings officials, and the Board’s chief psychologist toexpress our concerns. We have presented a training for parole attorneysand family members on how to assist prisoners with these issues. We areconnecting with other groups concerned about parole issues.

To date, we are aware of only one validated former SHU prisoner who hasbeen granted parole. The placement in solitary confinement of prisoners forvalidations alone was a violation of their constitutional rights. They enduredmental suffering, loss of credits, loss of educational and work programmingopportunities, loss of calls and contact visits with their families, etc. It issimply unfair to further penalize these prisoners, particularly those whoserved very lengthy SHU terms, for the same reason.

To get involved with this effort, contact Carol Strickman:

carol@prisonerswithchildren.org

Rest in Power, Hadiah

Jacquelyn Hadiah McLeod passedaway on May 31, 2017 in Oakland,California. Hadiah, as she was knownto many, was a community activistfrom an early age. As a young womanshe accepted the religion of Islam andbecame a Muslim. She earned herteacher's credentials and taught formany years. She was an asset to ourcommunity, and involved with manyorganizations over the years,including the Timers and All Of Us OrNone where I met her and got toknow and love her. She worked withmany African women’s groups, andwas an impetus for many healingcircles and workshops. She wasa mom to many, and a grandmother,aunt, daughter, sister, sister friend,teacher... and so much more. She willbe missed. But her life shines onthrough the work she did and the family and loved ones she left behind. —Harriette Davis

LSPC Calendar

CFASC Legal Workshop & BBQ PicnicWhen: Saturday, July 15 — 12:00 P.M.-5:00 P.M.Where: Chapman Park - 2515 San Carlos Dr., Fullerton, CA 92831

California Families Against Solitary Confinement hostpresenations on CDCR and the current state of solitaryconfinement, as well as laws and litigation pertaining topeople in SHU and attempting to gain parole once releasedto general population.

Food, Raffle Prizes... bring the kids! The event is in an air-conditioned community center but we will also have outsidetable with BBQ & playground in the park.

PRESENTERS:

12-2 P.M.

Carol Strickman, Senior Staff Attorney, Legal Services for Prisoners WithChildren: Parole preparation for those who have been in SHU

2-5 P.M.Frankie Guzman, Attorney, National Youth Law Center: Update on SB260,SB261 & Prop 57Jules Lobel, Lead Attorney, Center for Constitutional Rights: Update onAshker VS Brown

Please RSVP with Dolores Canales:dol1canales@gmail.com or (714) 290-9077

Letter-Writing NightWhen: Monday, July 24 — 5:30-8:30 P.M.Where: LSPC Offices — 1540 Market St.Suite 490, SF, CA 94102

Please join us to write letters to people inprison requesting information! Letter writingnights are the fourth Monday of eachmonth at 5:30-8:30 pm. We start with alight dinner, training, and conversation about the types of issues we will beaddressing in the letters, and then we respond to some letters.

We hope you can join us for this educational and important work! For moreinformation contact Eva:eva@prisonerswithchildren.org or 415-625-7049.

Family Law and Self-Help ConferenceWhen: Monday, July 24 — 8:30 A.M.—4:50 P.M.Where: The Ronald Reagan State Building - 300 S.Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 10013

LSPC staff will participate in the Family Law and Self-Help Conference, a series of trainings for legalservice providers, court-based staff, and pro bonoattorneys in California.

Together with Anjuli Arora Dow of Legal Serviceswith Children, LSPC Senior Staff Attorney Carol Strickman and StaffAttorney Brittany Stonesifer will present "Family Unity Issues forImmigrants at Risk of Deportation". Later in the day, Brittany will join JudePond (Lawyers Committee on Civil Rights) and Theresa Zhen (East BayLegal Services) to present “Conquering Court Debt: Arguing ‘Ability to Pay’in Traffic Court”.

LSPC is proud that our Family Unity Project and Fines & Fees experts havethe opportunity to share their legal expertise and experience to train

hundreds of attorneys at this prestigious conference, which is organized bythe Judicial Council and the Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC).

For more information, please go to the LAAC website here.

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