The Justice Initiative, the Criminal Justice Caucus and the Criminal Justice Initiative: Supporting Children, Families and Communities are incredibly grateful to everyone who attended, contributed and helped to organize this years conference. This was the biggest Beyond the Bars conference yet with more then 900 people joining us on Friday evening and over 450 people attending a variety of panels and workshops on Saturday. Every year this conference continues to grow and the conference would not be what it is without everyone’s contributions. We want to say a HUGE thank you to all who make Beyond the Bars the amazing conference that it is.
Friday night began with an incredible performance by the youth at Impact Repertory Theater followed by brief welcoming comments from New York State Senator Velmanette Montgomery and New York State Assembly Member Danny O’Donnell. The great Bryonn Bain and Co. blessed the stage with their performance of excerpts from his powerful show, Lyrics from Lockdown. This was followed by powerful and engaging talks from Angela Davis, Fania Davis and Beth Richie. A big thanks to our wonderful host, Soffiyah Elijah, for weaving the night together! So much was said and we look forward to sharing the video footage of the evening with you as soon as its ready.
Saturday we were joined by close to 80 different speakers throughout the day, beginning with two panels in the morning addressing how we might transform systems; the education system and the criminal justice system, bringing together panelists from a variety of fields and backgrounds. The afternoon followed with two blocks of workshops covering a wide range of issues, some of which included solitary confinement, immigration, policing under Bratton, the roles of faith-based communities, higher education and the criminal justice system, aging people in prison, reproductive rights in prison, children and families affected by incarceration, and comparing other countries prison systems. The day left us deep in thought about all of the work that needs to be done, and with a sense of hope that there are so many people interested and engaged in working on issues of mass incarceration. Video footage from the two panels on Saturday morning will also be available and we will share as soon as its ready.
To see and or download the program from saturday click here 2014program-foronline-FINAL-revised
We look forward to the continued progress of all of those doing this work and to continuing the dialogue and engagement on these issues.
Photos from Friday and Saturday 
