CURB Hosts 2012 Racial Justice Conference

Longtime US Civil Rights advocate, bestselling author and legal scholar Michelle Alexander [pictured] will be the keynote speaker when Citizens Uprooting Racism In Bermuda [CURB] holds its two-day “Racial Justice Conference” later this week to promote dialogue and action around racial justice issues.

The event — which opens on Friday [Mar. 31] — is being held at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel’s Gardenia Room and this year’s theme is “Bermuda’s Criminal Justice System: Intent and Impact”. The conference goals are to raise awareness as to the intent and impact of Bermuda’s existing criminal justice system; evaluate and discuss what is already being done; look for Bermuda-based ideas and solutions to help improve interagency collaboration; encourage community involvement; understand the root causes and offer solutions to the increasing violence in the Bermuda community.

A CURB spokesman said the conference seeks to create a proactive plan for fairness and unity in our communities, policies, politics, the economy and law.

“Its aim is to educate and offer concrete strategies, policy proposals and collaboration in its effort to reverse racial disparities and move our society towards a fully inclusive and racially equitable future,” said the spokesman.

“It is important to have unique clarity about the laws we pass, the policies we undertake and the way we do things. It requires courageous action based on our best thinking and high ideals.

“The work of justice is to mend the pain and injustice of the past. It is work that demands courage, patience, love and commitment to build a better future for us all.”

Issues to be covered in the Pre-Conference Workshops and the Racial Justice Conference will focus on:

• Public perception of crime/punishment and the community’s response for more punitive measures.
• Rise in gang and gun violence and legislative response.
• What are the unintended consequences of some of our criminal justice laws.
• Criminalization of black men – is this happening and what is the solution?
•  US Stop List – what can we do?
• Racial Justice – what does this mean in a criminal justice context?
• Are we protecting our civil liberties?
• War on Drugs – is the war working?
• Structural Racism and the criminal justice system: is it present and what can we do?
• Change in crime patterns and how this has affected the psyche of the Bermudian population?
• Restorative Justice – solutions that promote repair, reconciliation and the rebuilding of relationships by those who are harmed, the perpetrators and their affected communities.

For more information on conference presentations and times, please see CURB’s website.

CURB conference keynote speaker Michelle Alexander on race and criminal justice in the US

Speakers and Presenters

Michelle Alexander is a highly acclaimed civil rights lawyer, advocate and legal scholar. As an associate professor of law at Stanford Law School, she directed the Civil Rights Clinic and pursued a research agenda focused on the intersection of race and criminal justice.

Deepika Marya, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Postcolonial Theory and Literature in the English Department at the University of Southern Maine.

Leah Wing, Ed.D. Leah is director of the Social Justice Mediation Institute and has taught dispute resolution since 1993. She is a member of the faculty in the Legal Studies Program in the Political Science Department at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst.

Cordell W. Riley President of CURB, Mr. Riley is the Managing Director of Profiles of Bermuda, a company he founded in 1998. The firm conducts human resource assessments, training and development, as well as market, business and tourism research.

Lynne Winfield  has a long history of community and social activism having volunteered over the years for grassroots organizations, charities and boards. She is proud that she was a member of the Under 40 Caucus committee which founded the Good Friday Bermuda Kite Festival.

Gladwyn Simmons Sanctum has played a leading role in Bermuda to connect with the disconnected. In 2006, he formed a unique relationship with the Centre on Philanthropy to represent the development goals of the hardcore community.

Pastor Leroy Bean is the founder of CARTEL an acronym for Challenging And Reclaiming the True Essence of Life. CARTEL promotes an anti-gang, anti-violence philosophy among the Bermudian population.

Sheridan Scotton  has worked for Prison Fellowship in Bermuda for the past five years. A Bermudian, mother of two, during this period she has provided vital administrative and organizational support services to the Prison Fellowship Board of Directors.

Martha Dismont – Family Learning Centre

Kevin Comeau – “Building a Policy to reduce Bermuda’s Unique Gang Violence”

Carlton Simmons – Youth On The Move

Hashim Estwick

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