We Keep Us Safe: Public Safety, Crime, and Elections with the ACLU of Washington

Join the Office of Public Lectures for a panel discussion with the ACLU of Washington: Jazmyn Clark, ACLU-WA Smart Justice Policy Program Director, Martina Kartman, Collective Justice Co-Founder & Community Wellness Director, Chelsea Moore, ACLU-WA Smart Justice Policy Program Director, and Eugene Youngblood, Look2Justice Community Organizing Director with moderator Michele Storms, ACLU-WA Executive Director.
The panel will discission on what keeps communities safe, among ACLU of Washington policy experts and experts in restorative justice and violence prevention who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system.
For decades, Washington state has invested in increasingly harsher punishments as the solution to public safety. This investment has devastated communities, particularly communities of color, and created a mass incarceration crisis in our state. Panelists will discuss restorative justice, violence prevention, sentencing reform, and how criminalization policies and tough-on-crime rhetoric during election seasons undermine public safety. This discussion will examine the impact our sprawling criminal legal system has had on families, schools, and communities. Speakers will explore what is possible when we truly invest in community safety.