I couldnt have said it better--most importantly because I dont have Glenns experience in the center of this issue. You should know hell also give the keynote address at Bennington Colleges Incarceration in America conference in October! bennington.edu/incarceration-in-america Wholesale reform remains an elusive goal because the individuals and communities directly impacted by mass incarceration are glaringly absent--or worse, omitted from the conversation. Ironically, In a movement erected in their name, the current and formerly incarcerated are often relegated to roles of service provision and symbolism. It is not enough that advocates for reform be genuine believers in the depravity and inhumanity of our carceral policies. As is painfully evident in the movement for criminal justice reform, that we mean well does not readily translate into doing well. The failure of policy makers, advocates, and service providers, to invest time and energy into cultivating meaningful ways to work collaboratively with people and communities most impacted by the criminal justice system has expunged the expertise needed to achieve substantial reform. No community wants, needs, or understands the urgency of sweeping reform more than the ones held captive by the disastrous policy failures of a broken criminal justice system. These individuals not only bring a valuable and culturally-competent frame to the discussion, but “living closer to the problem” often means that they have given significant thought to possible solutions.In what appears to be a watershed moment for criminal justice reform we need these communities to instruct us on what needs to change, where we can improve, and what strategies we need to implement to manifest such change. Glenn E. Martin, (DRAFT) Keynote Speech at the International Community Corrections Associations 2014 Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio
Posted on: Sun, 14 Sep 2014 16:27:44 +0000
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