Legal Empowerment, Jailhouse Lawyering, and Abolition
- Jhody Polk Founder & Lead Organizer, Legal Empowerment and Advocacy Hub, home to The Jailhouse Lawyers Initiative
- Kevin Garrett Peer Policy Fellow, Texas Jail Project
- Jason Hernandez President Obama Clemency Recipient; Soros Justice Fellow; Author of "Get Clemency Now"
- David Johnson Criminal Justice Organizer, Grassroots Leadership
- Lauren Johnson Policy Advocacy Strategist, Policy Department, ACLU of Texas
- Savannah Kumar Activist Artist and Organizer
In Fall 2019, the Rapoport Center’s conference, “Prison Abolition, Human Rights, and Penal Reform: From the Local to the Global,” featured a panel titled, “Legal Empowerment as Abolition.” Panelists Jhody Polk, Kevin Garrett, Jason Hernandez, David Johnson, and Lauren Johnson joined in a conversation facilitated by Savannah Kumar.
On August 4, 2020, these six advocates will reconvene to highlight the critical importance of engaging jailhouse lawyers–and incarcerated people generally–in the current movements for prison abolition and racial justice. Speaking from lived experience and advocacy, the panelists will discuss issues such as legal empowerment, prison and jail conditions, parole, clemency, and re-entry.
Two Ways to Watch:
- Zoom: Please note that registration is required for the Zoom webinar. Register here for the Zoom Webinar. You will need a Zoom account to register and to join the webinar. Make sure you sign up and sign in to Zoom before you join the webinar.
- YouTube Live: You can watch the webinar live on our YouTube channel. YouTube Live does not require registration.
Supporters
This webinar is co-sponsored by the Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, Legal Empowerment & Advocacy Hub, the Robert and Helen Bernstein Institute for Human Rights, ACLU of Texas, Jailhouse Lawyers Initiative, and Texas Jail Project.