Freedom Conversations
The Freedom Conversations series was designed to maintain the momentum from the 2024 “UnConference” held in Dallas, whether you attended or not. It will help you engage your family, friends, local activists and faith community around issues resulting from the carceral state in our country.
JOIN THESE MONTHLY SESSIONS AND HELP END MASS INCARCERATION
Virtual meetings are held on Thursdays from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday
July 25
Unlock the Vote
(Part 1)
Thursday
august 22
Prison Labor & Conditions
Thursday
september 26
Unlock the Vote
(Part 2)
Tuesday
October 29
Policing
Fines & Fees
Thursday
November 14
Welcoming
Returning Citizens
Resources
- Learn about the common misperceptions many returning citizens have about their voting rights
- Discover how to access information about post-carceral voting rights and how to restore them, which can vary by state
- Identity strategies for getting-out-the-vote among returning citizens
- Address solitary confinement and its impact, with insights from a national campaign spanning 23 states
- Discuss how faith communities, advocacy organizations and activists can work together to end the exception to the 13th Amendment
- Examine the topics of prison labor and treatment of those who are incarcerated
- Learn how to mobilize communities to “raise our voices” and “pray with our feet” to influence systemic change in the criminal legal system
September
Discussion Focus
Strategies for faith communities, advocacy organizations and activists to ensure that every individual can exercise their right to vote
Tackling voter disenfranchisement and suppression
Creating an action plan to Unlock the Vote, ensuring that returning citizens understand their voting rights and know how to have them restored
Mobilizing communities to vote and influence systemic change in the criminal legal system
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Learn what our faith teaches about our obligation to protect the poor from inequitable punishment.
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Examine the historical origins of many fines and fees that are still levied today.
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Understand how fines and fees can be improperly used to fund law enforcement systems.
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Recognize how your community’s practices of fines and fees compare to others around the country.
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Identify what you can do in your community to help end unjust fines and fees.
- Learn the importance of creating an environment where returning community members feel comfortable in our places of worship.
- Understand what basic needs must be immediately met when people are released from incarceration—from food and housing to employment and medical care.
- Explore how to create a faith-based movement that drives systemic reform through policy change.
- Walk away with ideas about how you can engage in this critical work.
What should I expect?
No previous knowledge, training or experience is necessary to join the Freedom Conversations. Participants generally include faith leaders, members of faith congregations, community activists, those involved in justice-related work, social justice students, impacted families and returning citizens.
Freedom Conversations brings some of the leading experts on the issues surrounding mass incarceration in the U.S. directly to you. All interactive Zoom sessions will include actionable steps you and those in your community can take to make a positive impact. You’ll also have access to follow-up toolkits that will help guide the process every step of the way.
