IMPORTANT NOTE for REGISTRATION

There is a ticket for each day of the conference. We ask that you please only register for the day(s) that you intend to come. While we fully intend to acommodate everyone who registers, registration does not guarantee you a seat. Space at all events will be first come first seated for all registered attendees.

***Friday nights' Kick-Off Event is now SOLD OUT. There will be a standby line for anyone who isnt registered. Those in the Standby line will be admitted after all registered attendees have been admitted if there are still seats.***

BEYOND THE BARS: CONNECTING THE STRUGGLES

Beyond the Bars: Connecting the Struggles is the sixth annual student-driven interdisciplinary conference on mass incarceration held at Columbia University. Given the greater consciousness of mass incarceration in the US, this conference brings people from different spaces and places to dig deeper in the work of ending mass incarceration, building justice and engaging in action beyond the weekend.

This year’s conference, Connecting the Struggles, aims to connect the many ways in which mass incarceration has impacted individuals, families and communities across the U.S, and beyond, as well as build connections across diverse struggles for social justice.

Albert Einstein stated that imagination is more powerful than knowledge ––Our comrade and sister Angela Davis, challenged us to imagine a world without prison. Join us as we honor the spirit of the struggle – join in solidarity with impacted people, and with academics, activists, practitioners and community members as we continue to connect the struggles to eradicate mass incarceration and to build justice and equity.

CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

FRIDAY NIGHT KICK-OFF EVENT (Doors at 6:45 – Event Starts at 7:30)

Angela Davis
Virtual remarks from Mumia Abu-Jamal and Alicia Garza
Panel discussion with Cory Greene, Abraham Paulos, Delaine Powerful and Danielle Sered, moderated by Michelle Fine
Performances from Impact Repertory Theatre and the Theater for Social Change
Hosted by Malik Yoba

SATURDAY - CONNECTING THE STRUGGLES - MORNING PLENARIES AND AFTERNOON PANELS

Morning Plenaries (10 -1:15)

• The Roots of Mass incarceration and the History of Resistance to it (10 - 11:30)

• Challenging Reform Efforts that Exclude People Convicted of Violent Offenses (11:45 - 1:15)

Lunch (1:15 - 2:15pm)

Afternoon Panels (2:15 - 5:30pm)

Block 1 (2:15-3:45pm)

• Deconstructing the Calls to End Mass Incarceration: Examining Solutions, Strategies, Values, and Visions

• Youth Activism: Mobilizing Communities for Social Change

• Shaping Public Opinion: The Role of Journalism and Media in Defining Justice

• Examining Surveillance and Technology in the Struggles for Justice

• Mental Health: Across the Justice Continuum

• Reducing the Number of People Incarcerated: Exploring Mechanisms and Strategies for Release

• Ending State Violence Among Police and Corrections: Looking at Solutions

• Equitable Access to Education Across the Carceral Continuum

Block 2 (4-5:30pm)

• Electoral Politics and Legislative Reform: What’s Possible?

• Solitary Confinement: An Area Where Efforts Have Made a Difference

• Removing Barriers: Knowing, Enforcing, & Protecting Your Civil Rights After Justice System Involvement

• Revisiting the 1996 Immigration Law: The Birth of Mass Deportations and Its Impact on Mass Incarceration

• Responding to Violence Among Community Members: Beyond Police and Incarceration

• Arts and Activism: The impact That Cultural organizing Has on the Movement to End Mass Incarceration

• The Power of the Student: Organizing for Justice on the College Campus

• Women on the Rise: Emerging as Leaders for Criminal Justice Reform

• Challenging the Punishment Paradigm: International and Domestic Models for Justice and Accountability

SUNDAY - BUILDING THE GRASSROOTS - ORGANIZING WORKSHOPS

Opening (11-11:30)

Block 1 (11:30-1)

• How Social Workers are Connecting the Struggles
• Methods Matter: Participatory Strategies for Planning, Action Research and Coalition Building
• Mass Incarceration, Trauma, & Healing Strategies
• The Mindful Activist
• The Deal with Divestment: Organizing Prison Divestment in CUNY
• We are All Prisoners
• Abolishing THE BOX At The Neoliberal American University

Lunch (1-2)

Block 2 (2-3:30)

• Respecting Differences: Reducing Volatile Interactions between Youth and Law Enforcement on the Street
• The Blueprint: Building Fortified Cities of Reentry
• Change from the Inside Out: Rehabilitation Through the Arts,
• From Correction Officer to Prison Advocate
• The “Ex”: Simulating the Life of a Returning Citizen
• Behind Enemy Lines: From Slavery to Mass Imprisonment
• Connecting the Struggles, Challenging Incarceration
• The Great Expulsion: ICE Raids/Criminalization of Immigrants in the US

Block 3 (3:45 - 5:15)

• The Second Prison: Unlocking Second Chances
• Formally Incarcerated Included
• The Impact of the Prison Nation on Young Women and Girls
• No Borders No Prisons: U.S. Immigration Jail and the Israeli Occupation of Palestine
• Peacemaking Circles: Repairing Harm One Circle at a Time
• SpreadMassLOVE: A Creative Approach to Healing Relationships and Repairing Harm Caused by Mass Incarceration
• Reintegration Not Reentry
• Multi-Racial Coalitions for Prison Divestment: Building Unity Against Mass Incarceration and Detention
• Criminal Justice and Child Protection: Examining Intersections of Systemic Abuses

Location Information

March 4th - Friday Night Kick Off Event
Lerner Hall, Columbia University
2920 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
(Broadway at 116th)
1 Train to 116th Street

March 5th & 6th - Saturday Panels and Sunday Workshops

Columbia University School of Social Work 1255 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027

(Amsterdam between 122nd and 121st)

1 Train or AC/BD to 125th Street, walk to Amsterdam and head South

Conference Co-Sponsors

The conference is organized with support from the Columbia University School of Social Work, the Heyman Center for the Humanities, the Justice-In-Education Initiative, the Institute for Research in African American Studies, the Prisoner Reentry Insitute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Latin@ Caucus, the Policy Caucus and the Queer Caucus at Columbia School of Social Work.

Important Information and FAQs

For Saturday Morning, there are 180 seats for the two plenaries. After we reach capacity there will be seats available in overflow rooms.

Are there ID requirements or an age limit to enter the event? -- ID is required, but all ages are welcome at this event and we strongly encourage young people to attend.

Will the event be livestreamed? -- Yes. Friday night will be livestreamed and the two Saturday morning plenaries as well as the two featured Saturday afternoon sessions will also be livestreamed. Livestreaming can be viewed here: http://new.livestream.com/CenterforJusticeatCU

Where can I contact the organizer with any questions? -- Please email beyondthebarsregister@gmail.com with any questions.