Dr. Carl Hart Keynote at University of Texas El Paso (UTEP)

Dr. Carl Hart to Speak at UTEP

Keynote Address at the Vida Conference 2014

More information: vida.utep.edu/vida-conference-2014

I first heard of Dr. Carl Hart in the documentary the House I Live In, a film we recommended this Spring in The Beat Within course, in addition to the required viewing of Slavery by Another Name.  Dr. Carl Hart will be giving the Keynote Address at the UTEP Vida Conference 2014 (Vulnerability to Drug Abuse Among Hispanics, Bridging Science and Society, May 29-30, 2014).  The event will take place at the Tomas Rivera Conference Center (UTEP) in El Paso, Texas and will also feature New Mexico State University Associate Professor (CJ), Dr. Robert Duran on panel session #5: Qualitative Inquiries into Drug Use, Drug Markets, Gang Behavior and Successful Reentry (Gangs on the United States Side of the Border: A Story of Contradictions).  

Dr. Hart's keynote address is titled, "On Drugs: Keeping It Real".  On the conference agenda it states that the "presentation will describe how Dr. Hart came from housing projects in Miami to become Columbia University's first tenure African American professor in the sciences.  Dr. Hart will go beyond the hype and misinformation perpetuated by the antidrug movement to explain the real effects of drugs and drug policy."  Dr. Hart is Co-Director and Professor of Psychology at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Columbia University and a nationally recognized author of High Price.

Advocate Dr. Carl Hart, Carl Hart, advocacy, Columbia University, High Price, VIDA Conference 2014, UTEP, University of Texas at El Paso, The House I Live, House I Live In, Slavery By another Name, Drug Abuse, Substance Abuse, drugs, gang behavior, Dr. Robert Duran, New Mexico State University, NMSU, El Paso, Texas, El Paso Texas, Institute for Research in AFrican-American Studies, Criminal Justice, drug policy, neuroscientist, journey, self-discovery, Miami, Hip Hop, Harper, Harper Collins

Cost of Prisons in the United States

Cost of Prisons in the United States

Site: click here

Prison cost and incarcerated population for each state.

Prison cost, total prison population, incarcerated men, incarcerated women, annual cost per inmate, prison costs, prison budget, taxpayer cost, Texas prison population, New Mexico prison population, California prison population, New Jersey prison population, New York prison population, Florida prison population, United States prison population, prison population research, David Breston

Using Jailed Migrants as a Pool of Cheap Labor

Using Jailed Migrants as a Pool of Cheap Labor

New York Times Article: click here

Urbina, Ian. "Using Jailed Migrants as a Pool of Cheap Labor." New York Times 24 May 2014. Web. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/25/us/using-jailed-migrants-as-a-pool-of-cheap-labor.html?_r=1. 

The New Jim Crow, Ian Urbina, immigration detention, detained immigrants, prison industrial complex, federal government, prison industry, exploitation, prison slave labor, Jacqueline Stevens, mass incarceration, Michelle Alexander, immigrant rights, immigrant issues, immigration studies

Advocate | The Mission of Marian Wright

The Mission of Marian Wright

I've started to learn how to use the "Labels" function on the blogger system and have decided to create a section to this blog called "Advocates".  It's something that I started to keep track of on Zotero, which is a lot harder to manage considering its tucked away inside of their research tool, not as easy to find on search engines, and plus Zotero seems to run out of space quickly.  So I'm through using it.  I mainly hope to share notes and information online that will have a presence online regardless of whether I have an open account or not.  Google is the best tool for someone who is a sponge for information and a self anointed archivist.  

Our first Advocte feature is Marian Wright Edelman.  I stumbled across this article at work and felt there was a connection to the New Jim Crow read that we covered during the Spring semester of 2014.  Several connections, especially in thinking about individuals that paved the way for advocates today, not only in the community but in Marian Wright Edelman's case, as a civil rights lawyer.  

The citations below will connect you to an article posted in the Chronicle of Philanthropy and another is to a Ponchitta Peirce article that was published in an Ebony magazine (1966).  

As I was watching the video the Lyndon B. Johnson quote stood out to me.

"For the war against poverty will not be won here in Washington, it must be won in the field, in every private home, in every public office from the courthouse to the White House."

Introducing Marian Wright Edelman:

Knaan, Idit, and Suzanne Perry. "War on Poverty Spurs Lifelong Advocacy for Children." The Chronicle of Philanthropy 6 May 2014. Web. http://philanthropy.com/article/War-on-Poverty-Spurs-Lifelong/146391/?cid=pt&utm_source=pt&utm_medium=en.

Pierce, Ponchitta. "The Mission of Marian Wright." Ebony June 1966: 94-97. Web. http://books.google.com/books?id=Ql8CIGb9y5QC&pg=PA94&lpg=PA94&dq=the+mission+of+marian+wright+ponchitta&source=bl&ots=Q2mT12NNiu&sig=DBmwbQVNKee4esbEp8LJ1rMG5C0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=FV9_U_D7NYqMqgbljIDIDA&v.

Introducing Cornell Brooks

NAACP Selects Cornell Brooks as New National Leader
 

Cornell William Brooks, an attorney and African Methodist Episcopal (AME) clergyman, was elected Friday as the 18th president and chief executive officer of the NAACP, The Washington Post and The New York Times report.

An overwhelming majority of the venerable civil rights group’s 64-member board approved the choice of Mr. Brooks following a six-month search that saw more than 30 candidates interviewed. He replaces Benjamin Jealous, who departed last fall after a five-year tenure that saw him credited with reinvigorating the 105-year-old organization and improving its donor base and finances.

Mr. Brooks is executive director of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a Newark-based advocacy group. He also owns a home in the Washington, D.C., area, where he serves as associate minister at an AME church. He holds a master’s in divinity from Boston University and a Yale law degree.

The new leader will be introduced to NAACP members at the organization’s annual convention in July. He arrives at a time of renewed budget challenges, with the NAACP recently laying off 7 percent of its national staff. “We are a leaner, more nimble organization for our new president and CEO to build on,” said Roslyn Brock, who chairs the organization’s board.

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"NAACP Selects Cornell Brooks as New National Leader." Philanthropy Today 19 May 2014. Web. http://philanthropy.com/blogs/philanthropytoday/naacp-selects-cornell-brooks-as-new-national-leader/85511?cid=pt&utm_source=pt&utm_medium=en.

Sustaining Change by Alex Diaz | The Beat Within Spring 2014 Presentations (Stephanie)

We're wrapping up the Spring semester 2014 of The Beat Within, A Compositional History of Incarcerated Writing online course, NMSU.  As the Final Project each student selected a Beat Within publication from the Archives at The Beat's website and were tasked to conduct a digital presentation of its contents, including an analysis of the cover, the editor's note, the counselor's corner (including digital storytellers), pieces of the week/co-pieces of the week, standouts, The Beat Without, and an illustrations analysis from one of our required texts Illustrations from the Inside, The Beat Within.

It's a great opportunity to focus in on the details of just one publication and the themes it explores related to the lives of incarcerated youths and the justice system.  Students enrolled in the course also take the time to review The Beat Manual to understand the basics of becoming a facilitator or participant in a justice program that is based on creative expression, which specifically with The Beat publications involve writing and artwork.

As I'm reviewing the presentations I'm going to take the time to highlight a few findings, including thoughts from the students as well as what we're discovering by digging into the Beat Within publications which print bi-monthly and consist of nearly 60 pages or more each issue, leaving readers with a lot of wonderful content to explore.  What's great about these presentations, is no matter the time, whether it was published in the past year, or in previous years, it gives us a chance to put a magnifying glass on the writers of that particular month and to highlight quotes and statements.  In thinking about it, I wanted to highlight some of those quotes and statements as many people do on the world wide web when it comes to people that are famous or historic figures.  Does a dose of motivation through word always have to come from someone that most people know?  What about highlighting and passing on the quotes from youth?  From students?  From every day people that are expressing something new?  How about the lyrics of youth in our programs and the quotables of educators that arrive to a thought they're exchanging in the classroom or workshop?  We should pass on these quotes more or at least document them.  It's something I discovered also reading through the report by Carnegie Hall titled 'May the Songs I Have Written, Speak for Me, An Exploration of the Potential of Music in Juvenile Justice'.

So as I'm reviewing and grading final projects... that is what I've decided to do.  I'm going to start pulling these quotes out from our readings, from the youth in our VBW workshop, from peers, from The Beat Within that we're subscribed to... I'd like to post these quotes for people to pass on and share.  Whether they be in digital form online or something in print, (with permission maybe posters) that we can post in our rooms, offices, and centers...  I'm also planning to attach these messages to photographs, music, and other multimedia.  (For the record, the Beat is designed in a way that also highlights the power of quote, from the cover to the pages throughout the publication).

To begin, we start with Stephanie's presentation on the 2012 publication Volume 17.01/02 which you can view by visiting the Archives TBW Archives 2012.  There is a part in her presentation where she points to a Beat Without write up by Alex Diaz called "Sustaining Change".  You can view it by clicking on the image below.  I also wanted to attach it to an instrumental produced by Q-Tip from the 1994 classic by Nas titled ((One Love)).  It relates to the powerful closing of "Sustaining Change" which you can read in its entirety on page 65 of the publication.  The photograph included behind the quote is a nice summer shot by Anncam, Anncam's Photos.  In addition, here is Stephanie's summary on the part of her presentation that dealt with The Beat Without, Stephanie's Summary.  To view the quote below on a bigger screen click on the image!

(Click on the image to enlarge!)