SAVE THE DATE!

Transforming Justice:
Ending the Mass Imprisonment of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People

October 13-14, 2007
San Francisco, CA – Venue TBA

 


Dear Ally,

We are writing to let you know about an exciting event that will be taking place in San Francisco from October 13-14, 2007. Transforming Justice will be the first-ever gathering of activists, advocates, former prisoners, and community members from across the country working to stop the cycles of poverty, criminalization, and imprisonment in transgender and gender non-conforming communities. This two-day roundtable event will work to develop shared understanding of these cycles and strategize about how we can work more effectively to end the human rights abuses and mass imprisonment of transgender and gender non-conforming people, while building safe, healthy, and strong communities. Transforming Justice will be an opportunity to learn, connect, and envision together as we work to challenge the prison industrial complex and build a world where we all can thrive.

A range of organizations and volunteers involved in LGBTSTQ justice, anti-prison, and prisoner rights movements are helping to plan this exciting gathering. The Local Coordinating Committee consists of interested community members and representatives from our local host organizations, including Critical Resistance, Justice Now, the Trans/Gender Variant in Prison (TIP) Committee, and the Transgender, Gender Variant, and Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP). The National Advisory Committee consists of representatives from our sponsoring organizations, including American Civil Liberties Union’s LGBT Project, Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Program, Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

Who should attend? In an effort to centralize the leadership and participation of people most impacted by the prison industrial complex, this event is open to any LGBTSTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, Two-Spirit, transgender, queer) person who has been imprisoned, detained, arrested, or directly impacted by prisons, policing, or poverty. We are also targeting specific invitations to organizations, activists, attorneys, and community members from a broad spectrum of social justice movements working to: end transphobia and homophobia; challenge the prison industrial complex and defend the rights of people in prisons, jails, and detention centers; promote racial, gender, and economic justice, marriage equality, women’s rights, youth leadership, non-violence, and/or immigrant rights.
 
We would like to invite you and/or 1-3 members of your organization to participate in Transforming Justice. We particularly encourage people most directly impacted by prisons, policing, and poverty to attend: including formerly imprisoned people, survivors of police violence, people of color, transgender and gender non-conforming people, immigrants, and low-income people.
 
We will send more information about registration and the event program later this summer. Please direct all RSVP’s or questions to info@transformingjustice.org . As we are targeting invitations to specific organizations and individuals, please let us know if you would like to recommend other organizations or individuals to invite to the event.

Thank you for your time and your commitment to struggling for true justice in our communities. We hope to see you in October!

In solidarity,

Transforming Justice Local Coordinating Committee: Morgan Bassichis, Vanessa Huang, Kelani Key, Alex Lee, Danielle Lopez, Nat Smith, Lala Yantes, Fernanda Valdez

 
National Advisory Committee: Jody Marksamer, National Center for Lesbian Rights; Sharon McGowan, American Civil Liberties Union LGBT Project; Dean Spade, Sylvia Rivera Law Project; Jessica Stern, Human Rights Watch LGBT Rights Program; Cole Thaler, Lambda Legal

Posted under prison aboliton, queerness