CLASSACT NEWS

JusticeAid’s double feature in Washington, D.C. around the 2018 theme The Criminalization of Poverty: 21st Century Debtors Prison was the best yet. On April 17 classmate Seth Waxman hosted a discussion at WilmerHale, featuring the Executive Directors/ Founders of the two beneficiaries: Alec Karakatsanis of the Civil Rights Corp and Gina Clayton of the Essie Justice Group. The panel highlighted the human and civil rights issues around “human caging” and the 70% of prisoners who are in jail because they don’t have the resources to afford bail; and then the incredible toll on those left behind—primarily women, who have to pick up the pieces to support their families emotionally and financially. The panel was live streamed over Facebook.

The April 24 sold-out concert at The Hamilton in Washington, D.C. featuring Cécile McLorin Salvant, Paula Cole, Dom Flemons, Marshall Crenshaw and Kandace Springs raised over $120,000 for the two beneficiaries. Charles Bush and Jim Rowe served on the Host Committee for the concert. Jim Rowe underwrote a ClassACT table, hosting Seth Waxman and his wife Debra Goldberg, George Haywood, Holly Weeks and JusticeAid (and ClassACT) Board member Therese Steiner; and Charles Bush brought his daughter. Left Image Credit: Therese Steiner

Left: Jim Rowe, George Haywood, Debra Goldberg. Right: Holly Weeks, Seth Waxman, Therese Steiner, Charles Bush. Image Credits: Katie Sundstrom

ClassACT's own assistant Katie Sundstrom was working double time, helping JusticeAid with its social media posts and platforms, as well as overseeing the Facebook Live post of the panel.  She’s been nothing short of amazing. Katie also shot more #WhatJusticeMeansToMe videos with all the artists—in the bathroom off the Green Room, our makeshift recording studio. Thank you Katie!

Jim Rowe, Therese Steiner, George Haywood. Image Credit: Katie Sundstrom

The panel and the concert included short films on JusticeAid's mission and purpose, Civil Rights Corps, and Essie Justice Group. These set the stage for both events, and were great for positioning all initiatives. 

Gina Clayton (Founder/Executive Director, Essie Justice Group), Alec Karakatsanis (Founder/Executive Director, Civil Rights Corps), Therese Steiner (Board Member, ClassACT and JusticeAid), Steve Milliken (Founder/Executive Director, JusticeAid). Image Credit: Katie Sundstrom

Update from classmate sponsor Rick Weil: "I went to Sue Press’s annual Nu and Old Fellas Social Club ball a few weeks ago.” Sue’s social club embodies a form of social work that Rick calls “retail mentoring,” hands-on work with children in the Treme neighborhood which ClassACT has supported previously. “At a panel on tikun olam, the Jewish concept of service, at seminars on Jewish learning, two presenters who run the service program at Tulane were interested in the idea of helping coordinate the neighborhood mentor network I’ve been talking with Sue about developing.” 

Rick also called our attention to a lead story in the New York Times in March 2018 about a new study about race and inequality out of Stanford & Harvard by Raj Chetty. “It was one of the best-done studies yet, and they concluded that mentoring might be one of the only things that works. Pretty cool from my perspective.”

Don't forget to send in your Class Report submission for Reunion Red Book. You should have received an email and snail mail about this recently. Although the deadline of April 27 may be a bit soft, timely submission will be important if you do not want to be left out! Also be sure to mark your calendars for Reunion October 11-14, 2018.

Erum Sattar, BBLP Associate, authored a book review of Indus Waters Treaty: Political and Legal Dimensions by Ijaz Hussain, Oxford University Press. The review was published on Dawn.com; don't miss it! 

"All those who desire a more peaceful and prosperous future for the region must undertake some clear-headed study of the long history of water-sharing and development in the Indus basin. To that end, this book is a critical contribution." - Erum Sattar

ClassACT Bridge Project JusticeAid Presents:
Songs for Lady Day, The Music of Billie Holiday

Songs for Lady Day: The Music of Billie Holiday celebrates jazz and blues legend Billie Holiday during her birthday month of April with performances by Grammy Award-winning artists Cecile McLorin Salvant, Paula Cole, and Dom Flemons, along with legendary singer-songwriter Marshall Crenshaw and contemporary star and repeat JusticeAid performer Kandace Springs. 

100% of ticket sales will benefit JusticeAid’s 2018 beneficiaries, the Civil Rights Corps and Essie Justice Group. Both of these organizations are fighting inequality in our legal system.  

Suzan E. Jenkins, Chief Executive Officer of the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, will be the emcee for the evening. Susan Shaffer and the Honorable Truman A. Morrison III will be recognized for their heroic efforts to end financial barriers to justice.

Check out JusticeAid's Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for clips, photos and updates on the concert!

The Criminalization of Poverty: 21st Century Debtors' Prison

ClassACT bridge project JusticeAid, with Seth Waxman and WilmerHale, hosted a panel discussion on the criminalization of poverty. The panel was moderated by Vanita Gupta, President and CEO on the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.  Ms. Gupta was joined by panelists Alec Karakatsanis of Civil Rights Corps and Gina Clayton of Essie Justice Group. 

Missed the panel? You can watch the entire thing on ClassACT's Facebook page! 

"I adore Chicago. It is the pulse of America." - Sara Bernhardt

Get ready for a weekend of learning and fun.

What's up?

The Main Event: 
Roger and Gina Myerson will host us on Saturday, April 21 from 6-8, at their home with a gorgeous view of Lake Michigan. Come and bring your spouse/partner/family member for an evening of fun and a chance to learn about ClassACT. 

What Else?

FUN exploring together with a bit of learning thrown in.

We are working on organizing the rest of the weekend and would love your input.

Our ideas so far:

• An exhibition tour at the Art Institute with classmate Andrea Kirsh as our guide
• Grooving to the blues at Buddy Guy's Legends (a quick walk from the Myersons')
• Sunday brunch at the Currency Exchange Café of the Rebuild Foundation 
• A tour and taproom visit at Metropolitan Brewing (housed in the tannery formerly owned by classmate Rick Weil's family)
• A visit to the Field Museum to look at their anthropological collections, which offer a chance to see changing museum practice over the past century
• Taking the Chicago River architectural tour

Tickets are now on sale for JusticeAid's April 24 concert, Songs for Lady Day. The concert will celebrate jazz and blues legend Billie Holiday, while honoring and supporting the work of its beneficiaries, Civil Rights Corps and Essie Justice Group. You don't want to miss this! Click here to learn more about the event and to purchase tickets. 

Friends and admirers gathered at the Harvard Kennedy School on Saturday to celebrate the life and legacy of Asma Jahangir, human rights champion. Rick Brotman '73 filmed the speakers; click on their names below to watch their tributes. 

Beena Sarwar	Yasser Kureshi
Mahmud Jafari	Shahla Haeri
Yasser Latif Hamdani	Marty Chen
Raza Rumi	Homi Bhabha
Sugata Bose	Chanta Bhan
Kashif Chaudhry	Tom Simons
Sara Sulehri	Ayesha Jalal
Amartya Sen	Sughra Raza

The 2 programs to benefit from the next Justice Aid concert proceeds (April 24 in Washington, DC)  are:

Civil Rights Corps, which brings cutting-edge class-action litigation all over the country to challenge corruption in our legal system, and they’re making a major impact. Civil Rights Corps has already has won victories over unconstitutional bail systems in jurisdictions in Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, and more, as well as challenging debtors' prisons all over the South. Civil Rights Corps succeeds because of their commitment to partnering with community-based organizations in each of the localities where they take action, ensuring that local solutions take shape based on local input.

and

Essie Justice Group is an Oakland, California-based organization that mobilizes women with incarcerated loved ones to take on the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration, and they are helping lead the campaign for bail reform in California. Essie's award-winning Healing to Advocacy Model brings women together to heal, build collective power, and drive social change. Essie is building a membership of fierce advocates for race and gender justice—including Black and Latinx women, formerly and currently incarcerated women, transwomen, and gender non-conforming people.