Forum, Wednesday, March 2nd: Real Universal Suffrage – Voting Rights for the Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated

Want to really know about restoration of the voting rights that have taken from incarcerated? All of our forum panelists, are well versed in the subject and all, have had first hand experience being among the incarcerated- Names and bios below.

It’s about democracy! That's why Citizens Defending Libraries is participating in bringing you this forum.  It is doing so with the Weaving Social Justice Committee of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Brooklyn (in conjunction with which we have brought you other forums about, voting rights and disenfranchisement, privatization of public assets, and where we get our news and information), and working with New York for Full Restoration of Voting Rights Coalition who is providing the panelists and moderator for this event.  All of the panelists have experienced incarceration.

Here is the information:

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Virtual Forum – Wednesday, March 2nd 2022 – 7:00 PM (on Zoom)
Real Universal Suffrage – Voting Rights for the Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated
Presented by the Weaving Social Justice Committee of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Brooklyn in Conjunction with New York for Full Restoration of Voting Rights Coalition.

Zoom Meeting Information
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85867660790?pwd=WVBDSnJxalFrU0p4WjBWRmpDZm5pUT09

Meeting ID: 858 6766 0790
Passcode: 939784
One tap mobile
+16465588656,,85867660790#,,,,*939784# US (New York)
+13017158592,,85867660790#,,,,*939784# US (Washington DC)

In the 1800s, prior to the emancipation of enslaved people, New York State changed its laws to take away the voting rights of those it incarcerated.

Incarceration has traditionally been used in the US as a means of removing voting rights from a substantial number of American citizens – particularly Black, Latinix and Indigenous people. And with the current state of mass incarceration this disenfranchisement has profound and unconscionable effects of democracy. What can be done to restore voting rights and create greater equity?  

In New York State: What are the current rules for people on parole or released? What are the rules now for people currently in prison? What changes do we want to see? How can this be accomplished? Who is working for change – and how? How can you become involved?

Join us on Wednesday, March 2nd when we will hear from New York for Full Restoration of Voting Rights Coalition -and from the personal experience of those involved in the struggle.

For the Zoom link please contact rpearl112@gmail.com 

“The power to vote is critical for all citizens, but particularly those who are formerly or currently incarcerated, as it: 1) enables participation in our democracy, 2) allows them to stay integrated into society and, 3) reduces recidivism rates. Felony disenfranchisement has been included in New York State law ever since the 1821 NYS Constitution. Two hundred years of this racist law is enough!” (quote from the AFJ-NY website)

Moderator: 

Aqirah Stanley, Deputy Director of Alliance of Families for Justice- Aqirah Stanley, has been an active member of Alliance of Families for Justice since January 2018. She started out as AFJ’s first Shirley Chisholm Fellow, and then became AFJ's Project Manager before stepping into the role as Deputy Director. As a directly impacted person, Aqirah fully understands the trauma and challenges of incarceration on families and children and wholeheartedly supports the use of collective action as a driving force of change, healing, and empowerment. Aqirah has been a passionate visionary and an asset to AFJ since day one, and looks forward to continuing to create opportunities for AFJ to unite and empower directly-impacted families and friends, as well as allies and volunteers.

Panelists (All of the panelists, knowledgeable about the subject of voting rights for the incarcerated, have had the first hand experience of being one of the incarcerated):

Victor Pate, New York Campaign For Alternatives To Isolated Confinement Statewide Campaign Organizer - Victor Pate brings years of organizing experience into his role as a NY statewide organizer and a formerly incarcerated individual. He is a founding member and chairman of the National Action Network NYC Chapter Second Chance Committee, and an active coalition member of several criminal justice, prisoner advocacy and legislative reform organizations. He has and is overcoming the many barriers and hurdles systemically in place that prevent people with current and previous criminal justice involvement from fully and completely reintegrating into society.

Angel Solis, is the Project Coordinator for the Youth Empowerment Project at the Alliance of Families for Justice. The Youth Empowerment Project is a youth community leadership training program. Mr. Solis was born and raised in the Bronx and was previously incarcerated for a total of ten years. While in prison, Mr. Solis was fortuitously placed in a prison with a college program and took advantage of a free education. In 2016, Mr. Solis, desirous of a college degree, was released from prison and was accepted at Columbia University. He graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Sociology. Mr. Solis is a firm believer in the revolutionary power of education and truth and it is because of this belief that he has committed his life to its proliferation

Uwimana Aisha Radellant,  Currently, attending John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a full-time student in the Public Administration in Public Policy, Master’s Program specializing in Criminal Justice Reform. Began a second specialization in Management and Operations in the fall of 2021, to be completed December of 2022.  David Rockefeller Fund Fellow. Won the Victor Hassine Memorial Award. Mentor at the Institute for Justice and Opportunity, formerly known as the Prison Reentry Institute, and Mentor for both the Justice Institute and College and Community Fellowship. Former participant of the College and Community Fellowship WISH Policy Program. A survivor of the American criminal injustice system. “My traumatic first-hand interactions with the misrepresentation cloaked in the falsehood of American justice infuriated me into action. I felt I had no choice but to dedicate my life’s work to addressing this shameless, unrelenting system of inequality systematically designed to forever suppress and subjugate all people of color. My personal experience of `innocent until proven guilty’ proved this phrase is simply that, nothing but hollow words that only applies to the wealthy.

Elder Louis D. Rodriguez, MPS, A native Brooklynite who served 26 years of a 20 years to life sentence. Past Lead Mentor, Edenwald Arches, FEDCAP Rehabilitation Services, Past vice president of Jefferson & Sons LLC, a real estate management firm, Ruling Elder & Clerk of Session, The Church of Gethsemane, (PCUSA), General Board, New York City Presbytery, Co-Chair, Self-Development of People (SDOP) committee, New York City Presbytery, Lifetime Member, Uptown Democratic Party, New York City Election Poll Worker, New York County Board of Elections