Join Center for Community Alternatives for a rally and press conference to protest the anniversary of the infamous ’94 crime bill and call for #CommunitiesNotCages.
The ’94 Crime Bill – passed on September 13, 1994 – decimated Black and brown communities, ballooned prison populations, and gave money to states for building jails and prisons in exchange for eliminating earned time and rehabilitative opportunities for incarcerated people. Much of the harm we collectively seek to undo with #CommunitiesNotCages spouts directly from this notorious federal legislation.
On Sept. 13, we will turn the page on the ’94 Crime Bill, memorialize those we have lost behind bars, and call for the passage of the Earned Time Act, Second Look Act, and Eliminate Mandatory Minimums Act. Please wear black and bring photos of loved ones behind bars.
Will you join us and help spread the word? RSVP here and share the action on social media. You can re-tweet here or download the graphic below & use this sample tweet/post:
Sample tweet: The ’94 Crime Bill decimated Black and brown communities and exploded prison populations. On September 13, join us for a rally and press conference protesting the anniversary of its passage and demanding #CommunitiesNotCages. RSVP: bit.ly/CNC-Sept13
Featuring Keynote Speaker, Leah Penniman, Author, Founding Co-Director and Farm Manager of Soul Fire Farm
Leah Penniman (Li*/Ya/She/He) is a Black Kreyol educator, farmer/peyizan, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. Li has over 20 years of experience as a soil steward and food sovereignty activist, having worked at the Food Project, Farm School, Many Hands Organic Farm, Youth Grow and with farmers internationally in Ghana, Haiti, and Mexico.
Leah co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2010 with the mission to reclaim our inherent right to belong to the earth and have agency in the food system as Black and Brown people. As co-Executive Director, Li is part of a team that facilitates powerful food sovereignty programs – including farmer trainings for Black & Brown people, a subsidized farm food distribution program for people living under food apartheid, and domestic and international organizing toward equity in the food system. Her areas of leadership at Soul Fire include farmer training, international solidarity, perennials, writing, speaking, “making it rain,” and anything that involves heavy lifting, sweat, and soil. Li’s book “Farming While Black” is a love song for the earth and her peoples.
Leah holds an MA in Science Education and BA in Environmental Science and International Development from Clark University, and is a Manye (Queen Mother) in Vodun. Leah has been farming since 1996 and teaching since 2002. The work of Leah and Soul Fire Farm has been recognized by the Soros Racial Justice Fellowship, Fulbright Program, Omega Sustainability Leadership Award, Presidential Award for Science Teaching, NYS Health Emerging Innovator Awards, and Andrew Goodman Foundation, among others. Her book, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide is a love song to the land and her people.
Awards
We’re honored to offer the following awards at the Western New York Peace Center’s 55th Annual Dinner:
Families and Survivors of the 5/14 Massacre will receive the Phoenix Award to recognize their tremendous labor of love emerging from the ashes of horrific grief and trauma (copy will also be given to the May 14 Community Collecting Initiative of the Buffalo History Museum and B&EC Public Library System).
Yanenowi Logan, Seneca deer clan, Cornell University Environment & Sustainability student, re-establisher of Seneca Youth Council, will receive the Emerging Leader Award;
Dr. Charley Bowman, scientist & activist, former WNYPC Director and Environmental Justice Taskforce Chair, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Tickets & Menu
We are excited to announce that this event will be catered by Sunshine Vegan Eats.
Served buffet-style. All sides are vegan and will be available with either protein choice (baked chicken OR vegan meatloaf): collard greens, mac and “cheese”, string beans, and artisan bread. Dessert will be peach cobbler.
Igniting Hope 2022: Advocating in a New Reality – Breaking Barriers, Maintaining Resilience, & Reconstructing a Community of Care
Featured speakers:
Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III, Founder, Black Church Food Security Network
Ruth S. Shim, MD, MPH, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Associate Dean of Diverse & Inclusive Education, University of California, Davis
Keeanga Taylor, PhD, Author, Activist, Leon Forest Professor of African American Studies, Northwestern University
In-person or on Zoom. Register at buffalohealthequity.org. At the time of publication, mask wearing for in-person participants is encouraged but not required.
Leah holds an MA in Science Education and BA in Environmental Science and International Development from Clark University, and is a Manye (Queen Mother) in Vodun. Leah has been farming since 1996 and teaching since 2002. The work of Leah and Soul Fire Farm has been recognized by the Soros Racial Justice Fellowship, Fulbright Program, Omega Sustainability Leadership Award, Presidential Award for Science Teaching, NYS Health Emerging Innovator Awards, and Andrew Goodman Foundation, among others. Her book,