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Breaking the Chains: Mass Incarceration and Systems of Exploitation April 10th, 2015
The Ecumenical Advocacy Days Annual Conference will be held in Washington, DC from April 17-20, and will focus on the problem of mass incarceration in the United States.
The EAD Congressional Advocacy day will be on April 20th. Here is the EAD ‘ask’ of Congress:
Congressional Advocacy Day – April 20, 2015
(Click above to read the full “Ask” with talking points and background information.)
We call on Congress to reform federal criminal justice and immigrant detention policies toward the goal of ending unfair, unnecessary, costly and racially biased mass incarceration:
- Adopt criminal justice and sentencing reform policies that incorporate an end to mandatory minimum sentencing;
- Eliminate the detention bed quota for immigrants and implement alternatives to immigrant detention.
Our Faith Conviction
As people of faith and conscience, we call for respect to be shown all people as bearers of God’s image. Jesus tells us to act
Click here to read more »
NAACP Releases Environmental Justice Classroom Resource Guide March 10th, 2015
Given the results of the latest report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the NAACP says we must ask ourselves some critical questions about how we prepare our children to face the world they will be inheriting, and the harsh truth of today’s conditions and dynamics. How do we ensure that our youth emerge from their studies with an understanding of the intersection between our social, economic, cultural, political, and environmental status in society? How do we teach them their role as influencers of what’s happening in their environment, now and in the future?
The reality of being a youth of color and/or a youth living in a low income community means that, due to socio-political marginalization, already one is more likely to be located next to a polluting facility and/or living in a county whose air quality is in violation of already lax federal standards. And, mnority youth are more likely to have the very building that houses their institution of learning built on toxic, contaminated land. We see how this plays out in high rates of asthma, attention deficit disorder, learning problems, and even violence, all of which are tied to exposure to toxins. We also see this result in missed days of school for children, missed days of work for parents who are sick themselves and/or caring for sick children, etc. We also see lower property values because of proximity to toxic facilities, which means under-resourced schools and compromised education. These youth are caught in a cycle of pollution, illness, poor education, negative interactions with the criminal justice system, and economic blight, which detracts from youth’s ability to achieve and their families’ capacity to thrive.
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Opportunity for Interfaith Dialog on Islam March 4th, 2015
Justice for Immigrants – Lenten Materials February 23rd, 2015
Recently, Congress has been deadlocked in attempting to pass a bill that would roll back executive legislation on immigration. This Lenten season, let us uphold the dignity of all people and offer our prayers and action for immigrant families.
Both the Justice for Immigrants Campaign and the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) have posted Lenten resources on their websites. The Justice for Immigrants Campaign resource is a 30-page toolkit available in both English and Spanish that can be downloaded and used throughout the season of Lent.
UN Human Rights Day – December 10th! December 5th, 2014
Human Rights Day is December 10th, and we all need to spread the word!
The UN OHCHR is launching a social media initiative to stress that every day is Human Rights Day. We are all invited to record 6-second video messages (Vine) saying “Human rights matter 365 because…..” or “Human Rights matter every day because…” filling in the blanks with your own creative message. Tag your Vine with #rights365 and the OHCHR will collect them in their Storify. The video will be distributed through the UN Human Rights Office social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Vine and Storify). Please also sign up for a Thunderclap.
Check the High Commissioner’s statement and video statement – The statement of the High Commissioner is also available in the Human Rights Day page in all six UN official languages and the video statement –in English and Arabic– will be available in their site as of next week.
For any queries or clarifications, please contact humanrightsday@ohchr.org.
