Andrea James from National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls

TOWARD A FUTURE WITHOUT MANDATORY DETENTION
Paving the Way Forward: Vision for 2045
November 19, 2020 | 9 AM – 11 AM ET
Hosted by: Open Society Foundations and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG)

Andrea James from National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, United States: need for abolition of a criminal justice system that has no legitimacy and is an extension of slavery to oppress and control Black people; it needs to be eradicated; there is an issue in the US where post 2010 when there was a wider recognition of mass incarceration, there was a focus on reimagining prisons -- we should not do this, but rather we need to reimagine communities and organize at the hyper local level around participatory defense, participatory budget, transformative justice, economic development and the liberation project; need to recognize affected people as experts and should be leading this work; we need a invest/divest strategy. Moderator says a few words to make the transition

[j.joyner]

Hi my name is Jasmine Joyner and I just came home from serving 15 years in federal prison. And my mentor was Ms. Michelle West and I am interested in advocating not only for Michelle West but also other women in the "Just Is" system. Please contact me I was told to get in contact with Andrea James personally by Ms. West. Please contact me. Thank You. Being here in DC I feel like I and my team can be really impactful. Please contact me.