Bill Moyers, Michelle Alexander

Dear FCWPP Friends,

May I recommend as strongly as possible that you take time to view the Friday, April 2, Bill Moyers Journal if you did not see it Friday evening or have not already seen it on line: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04022010/watch.html. The program features an interview with Michelle Alexander who has written a book about the “drug war” which has resulted in a huge disproportionate amount of African-American males going to prison. The book is entitled The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. She will particularly be addressing the Washington “Three Strikes” law that has been used to send young men to prison for life, and an issue that has been a main concern of FCWPP’s advocacy in recent years.

And if you would like to see and hear more of MichelleAlexander, she is coming to Seattle on Wednesday, April 14, from 6:30-9 pm, at the Rainier Valley Cultural Center, 5117 Rainier Ave. S, in Seattle. The organization, Justice Works, is the lead sponsor, but FCWPP is a co-sponsor. My impression of her on Bill Moyers is that she is a compelling speaker with a compelling message, especially for those of us interested in criminal justice reform, racism, and the disastrous war on drugs in particular. If you come, please plan to stop by our FCWPP table and say hello.

With anticipation,

Tom