Press Release: Celebrate National Youth Justice Action Month on Wednesday, October 26, and join us for a short documentary screening of “America Divided: The Class Divide,” and a panel discussion about mass incarceration and how it effects youth from the “school-to-prison pipeline” to the collateral consequences of prosecuting juveniles as adults.
According to a study conducted by the James Madison Institute, a child charged with a felony offense was almost twice as likely to be prosecuted as an adult in Duval or Hillsborough County, three times as likely in Palm Beach County, and four times as likely in Escambia County as compared to a child in Miami-Dade County.
We will screen “America Divided: The Class Divide,” episode 3 of the eight-story, five-part docu-series executive produced by Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes and Common. Watch as actor and activist Jesse Williams journeys to St. Petersburg, Florida, once known for its beaches and pleasant weather, but now notorious for being the unlikely epicenter of the student achievement gap and school-to-prison pipeline. The episode also features the work of Dr. Amir Whitaker and his fight to protect and restore the future of Florida’s youth.
The moderator will be Pensacola News Journal Executive Director Lisa Nellessen-Lara. Guest speakers for the panel discussion include:
Deborrah Brodsky, director of the Project on Accountable Justice at Florida State University,
Minister Jeremy Graham, an activist who helped to lead the effort to shut down Walnut Grove Correctional facility,
Scott McCoy, Southern Poverty Law Center policy counsel in Florida
Kelly Richards, First Judicial Circuit of Florida Assistant Public Defender,
Dr. Amir Whitaker, Lawyer and Author, “The Knucklehead’s Guide to Escaping the Trap”, featured in the documentary
J.P., a student and activist recently released from the Florida Department of Corrections
Co-sponsors for the program include:
ACLU of Florida,
League of Women Voters of the Pensacola Bay Area,
The Coffee Party,
University of West Florida Social Work Department,
Southern Poverty Law Center and the
Escambia Youth Justice Coalition.
This event is free and open to the public.
Criminalizing Kids: The Effects of Mass Incarceration on Our Youth
Wednesday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m.
J. Earle Bowden Building 120 Church St.
Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/872996449466944/