Welcome to the conversation!


Welcome to the conversation!

Harriet Beecher Stowe's (1811-1896) best-selling anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), made her the most famous American woman of the 19th century and galvanized the abolition movement before the Civil War.

The Stowe Center is a 21st-century museum and program center using Stowe's story to inspire social justice and positive change.

The Salons at Stowe programs are a forum to connect the challenging issues (race, gender and class) that impelled Stowe to write and act with the contemporary face of those same issues. The Salon format is based on a robust level of audience participation, with the explicit goal of promoting civic engagement. Recent topics included: Teaching Acceptance; Is Prison the New Slavery; Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North; Creativity and Change; Race, Gender and Politics Today; How to be an Advocate

This blog will expand the reach of these community conversations to the online audience. Add your posts and comments to keep the conversation going! Commit to action by clicking HERE to stay up to date on Salon and social justice news.

For updates on Stowe Center programs and events, sign up for our enews at http://harrietbeecherstowe.org/email.

Friday, January 2, 2015

Social Justice Trends of The Week

Happy 2015! With a new year, comes new opportunities to engage in contemporary issues of justice and equality.  

Here's the social justice trends people are talking about this week:

State of California begins offering licenses to undocumented immigrants: A new law began on Friday, allowing undocumented immigrants residing in California opportunity to apply for state driver's licenses.


U.S. Justice Department sues New York over conditions in Rikers Island:  In mid-December, the Justice Department announced its intention to sue the city of New York over discriminatory treatment of minors at Rikers Island. The pending litigation stems from a report issued by Preet Bahara, U.S. district attorney from Southern New York. The report, compiled after two years of research and investigation, revealed a "deep seated culture of violence" directed at young inmates.
 
 
Attorney Preet Bahara presents on report findings 

Alabama puts focus on prison reform in 2015: In January of 2014, the U.S. Justice Department issued a letter to Alabama state officials concerning the unjust conditions in Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women. The letter prompted introspection on the part of Alabama state officials and a subsequent task-force designed to improve conditions. AL.com, a leading news publication in Alabama, published over three hundred stories on experiences with the Alabama prison system, and as a result issued three imperatives necessary to enact change. The imperatives include- improvements to basic living conditions in prisons, the need to hold state legislatures accountable for their actions regarding justice reform, and an investigation into the root causes of incarceration.      

What other current events are trending this week? What do you think is the most critical issue to focus on as we move into 2015?  






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