5 Questions on Race for #BlackHistoryMonth by @SitesConscience

In recognition of Black History Month, the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center participated in a question series on racial justice sponsored by The International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. The Coalition is a collective of museums, institutions, and memorials that connect the past to the present in order to inform contemporary work towards justice. For Black History Month, The Coalition highlighted five member sites by featuring a question from each site on black history, race, or the fight towards racial justice.

Below is the question submitted by the Stowe Center:
Racism is often interpreted as one individual acting with prejudice towards another individual on the basis of race. But history teaches us that racism is not only individual, but also institutional. Racism is built into the foundation of the United States from the early days of colonization and slavery. Today, it operates in education, policing, health care, housing and even food policy. When defining racism, why do many people ignore institutional racism? How can you challenge institutional racism today?

The other featured sites included the Missouri History Museum, the National Civil Rights Museum, America's Black Holocaust Museum, and the Pauli Murray Project.

How would you answer the question? Why do you think we chose to ask this particular question? What question would you ask? Check out the questions asked my the other institutions and share your reactions in the comments below! 

#StoweSyllabus: What We're Reading this Week

Articles and current events that got us thinking over the week! 

Hartford’s Citizens of Color, 1863-1890: Black society after the Civil War
February 18, 2016, Beautifully Inspired Women’s Magazine
http://biwmagazine.com/hartfords-citizens-of-color-1863-1890-black-society-after-the-civil-war/

Who’s responsible for mass incarceration?
Josie Helen, February 15, 2016, Seven Scribes
http://sevenscribes.com/whos-responsible-for-mass-incarceration/ 

What does the Academy value in a black performance?
Brandon K. Thorp, February 19, 2016, The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/movies/what-does-the-academy-value-in-a-black-performance.html?smid=tw-nytimesarts&smtyp=cur&_r=0  

The power of the prosecutor: Adam Foss speaks at TED2016 on the key to changing the criminal justice system
Kate Torgovnick May, February 18, 2016, TED
http://blog.ted.com/adam-foss-speaks-at-ted2016-on-the-key-to-changing-the-criminal-justice-system/  

A quick summary of why only white people want to make America “great” again
Ben Mathis-Lilley, February 22,2106, Slate
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/02/22/white_people_want_to_make_america_great_again.html     

What are your reactions to the pieces? What articles, news pieces, or video-clips have you come across over the week? Let us know, below!

Salons at Stowe: Meet the Featured Guests

Join the Stowe Center for the first Salon at Stowe of 2016! This evening, featured guests Iran Nazario and Mike Lawlor will lead a discussion on Criminal Justice Reform in Connecticut. Learn more about the guests below!

Mike Lawlor, CT Under Secretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice in the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven.

Mike Lawlor served twelve terms as a member of the Connecticut House of Representatives representing his hometown of East Haven. As chairman of the Judiciary Committee from 1995-2011, Lawlor played a key role in passing two amendments to Connecticut's constitution, the first established explicit rights for victims of crime, and the second eliminated the patronage-ridden and corrupt county sheriff system.

Lawlor also helped to enact a number of workable gun control laws, rewrite and toughen the state's domestic violence laws, reformed the juvenile justice system, addressed racial disparities in the criminal justice system, passed laws ending discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and addressed recidivism and prison overcrowding. He also played a key role is establishing and now modernizing Connecticut’s Sex Offender Registry. 

Iran Nazario, COMPASS Peacebuilders & Community Outreach Director, COMPASS Youth Collaborative.

Iran Nazario has worked in gang prevention, violence mediation, youth engagement and program management for 24 years, beginning as a volunteer on the streets of Hartford. As Director of COMPASS Peacebuilders, he leads a team of 16 men and women whose goal is to decrease the level of youth violence throughout the city. Since the program began, COMPASS Peacebuilders has served over 3,000 youth with a success rate of more than 80%. 

What do you plan to ask the featured guests? How can CT be a leader in criminal justice reform? Join the Stowe Center for the first Salon at Stowe of 2016. The program will begin at 5:30 pm in the Stowe Visitor Center.