Register now for the CEDP’s 11th Annual Convention!
The Prison System is the New Jim Crow.
Location: Ventana Del Soul, Austin, Texas
This November, the Campaign to End the Death Penalty is headed straight to the belly of the beast – Texas – for a weekend of struggle and organizing!The murder of Troy Davis by the state of Georgia on September 21 horrified millions of people the world over – and has sparked a renewed national discussion of the death penalty in the United States.That discussion, in the media and among activists, is about innocence and the death penalty – but it is also about the racism in the criminal justice system. It shows the urgent need to strike a final blow to capital punishment and to challenge the whole INjustice system – the system that Michelle Alexander calls the New Jim Crow. As Troy has said:
“There are so many more Troy Davis’. This fight to end the death penalty is not won or lost through me but through our strength to move forward and save every innocent person in captivity around the globe. We need to dismantle this Unjust system city by city, state by state and country by country.”
Our annual national convention will take up questions on how to build a movement that combats racism in the criminal justice system, supports resistance behind bars, aims to end mass incarceration and harsh punishment and makes the death penalty history.
And with Governor Rick Perry running for president, the eyes of the nation are on the Texas death machine and what activists are doing to fight it – we have a chance to shine a spotlight on the death penalty in Texas with this year’s convention. Click here to download the full program for the convention.
Speakers will include many former prisoners, family members of prisoners, activists, scholars and others. Click here to see the full list of convention speakers.
For a map of the hotel and convention site click here.
And we hope you will join us November 11-13 in Austin, Texas for our 11th annual national convention!
Register now for the CEDP’s 11th Annual Convention.
November 11 – 13
Ventana Del Soul
1834 East Oltorf, Austin, Texas
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Convention registration:
$60 with Saturday night dinner. $35 for family members, former prisoners and students. Friday night plenary is free to all convention attendees, otherwise $5 suggested donation. Click here to register. Or you can mail in your registration to: CEDP, P.O. Box 25730, Chicago, IL 60647, make Check out to: CEDP
Hotel rooms available:
We have reserved a block of rooms at the Clarion Inn at a special rate of $113.85 (includes tax). To make reservations, call 800-434-7378 and mention the Campaign to End the Death Penalty. The hotel offers a free breakfast and is within walking distance of the convention site. Check out the Clarion website to view pictures or get more information. For more info, call the CEDP’s national office at 773-955-4841.
A limited amount of space will be available with CEDP members in Austin and will be worked out on a needs basis.
The Costella Cannon Scholarship Fund:
We have limited scholarship funds available to help cover the costs of travel for former prisoners and family members attending convention. To request a scholarship application or for more information please call our office at 773-955-4841.Please DONATE to the scholarship fund! Your generosity will help make it possible for those with financial hardship to make it to the convention. Click here to donate via PayPal right now!
Or you can make a check or money order out to CEDP and mail to:
P.O. Box 25730 Chicago, IL 60625:
The Ventana Del Soul facility hosts a kitchen and café that is open daily, as well as a large space for special events and a group of smaller meeting rooms. The venue offers catering services as well. The folks involved in food preparation and working at the venue are part of Ventana’s various training programs, often through scholarships provided by the organization.
There are a few rules we need to follow at the venue – the first is no outside food or drinks can be brought into the venue. The café has a full coffee menu, smoothies and breakfast and lunch options. In addition we should be respectful of the space and the folks working there who will be setting up rooms and taking care of the coffe and water service throughout the day.
This is an exciting opportunity to collaborate with a charitable mission the meshes nicely with the CEDP’s commitment to fighting against the injustices in the system. We should do whatever we can over the weekend to talk with and support the folks at Ventana Del Soul.
For more information check out http://ventanadelsoul.org/
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The Prison System is the New Jim Crow!
Workshops:
Prisoner Resistance: From Attica to DRIVE to Pelican Bay
Rick Perry, Cameron Todd Willingham and the scandal of the Texas death penalty
Not in our name: How executions create victims on both sides
For the full program click here.
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Featured Speakers will include:
FORMER PRISONERS:
Lawrence Hayes – Former New York death row prisoner
Mark Clements – Former Illinois juvenile life without parole prisoner and police torture victim
Jazz Hayden – Part of the historic uprisings at Attica as former New York prisoner and activist with the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow
*Also invited to call in from prison are California death row prisoner Kevin Cooper and former Illinois death row prisoner Stanley Howard (who remains in prison despite his death sentence being commuted)
FAMILY MEMBERS:
Sandra Reed – mother of Texas death row prisoner Rodney Reed
Sandrine Skinner – wife of Texas death row prisoner Hank Skinner
DeJaun and Martina Correia – nephew and sister of wrongfully executed Georgia prisoner Troy Davis
Jack Bryson – Whose son was on the platform with Oscar Grant when Oscar was shot and killed by Oakland transit police
Barbara Lewis – Mother of Delaware death row prisoner Robert Gattis
Terri Been – Sister of Texas death row prisoner Jeff Wood who was convicted under the Texas Law of Parties
Jeannine Scott – Wife of Michael Scott who was freed in the Yogurt Shop case in Austin, Texas
Derrel Myers – a member of Murder Victims Families for Human Rights and a long-time civil rights and antiwar activist
Lawrence Foster, Sr. – Grandfather of former Texas death row prisoner Kenneth Foster, Jr. whose sentence was commuted to life in 2007
ACTIVISTS/JOURNALISTS/OTHERS:
Jesse Muhammad – activist and journalist with the Nation of Islam and the Final Call
Liliana Segura – Independent journalist and activist with the New York City CEDP chapter and the Campaign to End the New Jim Crow
Elizabeth Gilbert – Author and advocate for wrongfully executed Texas death row prisoner Cameron Todd Willingham
Scott Cobb – Activist with the Texas Moratorium Network and co-organizer of the Annual March to Abolish the Death Penalty in Texas
Jessica Escobar – From the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition in California and a member of California Prison Focus
I’ll be praying for the convention and the CEDP’s continuing success.
Sandra