SNCC 50th Anniversary Conference Volume 31 - The Cradle to Prison Pipeline
FEATURED SPEAKERS Benetta Standly (ACLU Florida) Crystal Mattison (Children's Defense Fund Freedom School Program) Carmen Perez (The Gathering for Justice) Carrie Richburg (Pen or Pencil)
"The one and only thing this nation guarantees our children is a prison bed if they get into trouble," says Crystal Mattison of the Children's Defense Fund Freedom School Program who can hardly hold back her tears. CDF numbers reveal a grim reality: one third of the prison population is Black; one sixth is Latino. One point seven million children have a parent in prison. Fourth grade reading scores are being used to project prison needs in some states. Every day 192 children are arrested for violent crimes; 393 are arrested daily on drug charges. This panel traces the path to prison that many minority children begin traveling in early childhood. Another panelist, Carmen Perez, now involved with The Gathering for Justice organized by Harry Belafonte, vividly portrays the gang world that surrounded her childhood in a community outside of Los Angeles, saying how "lucky" she was to have someone "invest" in her. The panelists discuss inspiration from SNCC in their efforts to tackle the issues confronting them today.
Executive Producer: SNCC Legacy Project, Inc., Documentary Sub-Committee, Karen Spellman, Courtland Cox, Sharlene Kranz, Jennifer Lawson Gittens, Judy Richardson, Joyce Ladner, Charlie Cobb Producer: Natalie Bullock Brown/Ascension Productions Series Editor: Joseph Brandon Johnson Volume Editor: Darrell Pryor
