Upcoming Events April 3, 2008

Check out these upcoming events!

1. Come to the Front Recreation Center in St. Paul for a presentation by St. Paul Parks and Recreation. Network with organizations in St. Paul including the St. Paul Human Rights Dept., Ramsey County Workforce Solution, Community Stabilizaton Project, Twin Cities Rise, Southern MN Regional Legal Services, and many more. There will be free food!  The Date is Tuesday, April 8 from 5:30-7:30. The Front Recreation Center is at 485 Stinson Street in St. Paul.
2. Two community discussions to talk about what communities can do to better welcome ex-offenders back into the community.  The first group on Thursday April 24th from 6-8PM is looking for individuals previously incarcerated in the Minnesota State Prison system who have made a successful re-entry into your home community.  The second group will meet on Friday, April 25th from 12-2PM.  This group is looking for individuals recently released from the Minnesota State Prison system who are still under supervision and have not yet had success in reestablishing yourself in the community (a home, job, etc.).  Both groups meet at Jordan New Life Community Church located at 1922 25th Avenue North in Minneapolis.  ALL PARTICPANTS RECIEVE A $25 GIFT CARD AND A LIGHT MEAL FOR THEIR TIME!
3. Take the Council’s Relationship Class for Women with a Significant Other in Jail or Prison.  The class meets on Thursdays from April 3rd through June 5th at Green Central School on 3416 Fourth Avenue South in Minneapolis.  The class is free and includes free child care, transportation, and dinner.  Call 612-353-3004 to register.
4. Workshop on connecting students to their schools (especially focusing on special education students).  This workshop is on April 11th at the Ridgedale Library at 12601 Ridgedale Dr., Minnetonka, MN 55305 from 8:30AM-12:3oPM .  Registration is due by tomorrow, April 4th and you can email Jeannette Raymond at jraymond@fcsmn.org for more info.

Thats all for now!  Check back for more event updates.

Waking Life Prison Scene April 3, 2008

In the vein of prison/justice system media representations, here’s an interesting clip from the animated film Waking Life. There is a monologue from a man in prison detailing his anger with the system and his plans for revenge. A film world discussion of what being locked up in an institution can do to someone. An interesting question… why is the man red? Are the filmmakers dealing with the racial makeup of prisons? Are they avoiding the question by painting red for anger?

Writer’s from HBO’s “The Wire” Speak out on the Drug War April 3, 2008

Writers from the HBO show The Wire published an editorial in TIME Magazine speaking out against the drug war. Check it out here. Its quite incredible that writers for an extremely popular television show would come out and ask people to consciously defy draconian drug laws by voting to acquit in any case in which they are on a jury in a drug-related trial. The Wire was a television drama portraying life in inner-city Baltimore that “tried to portray all sides of inner-city collapse, including the drug war, with as much detail and as little judgment as we could muster.”