Speak Up

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For our final post, we are encouraging you to be bold. You’ve done the work of listening, learning and contributing. Now is a more important time than ever to speak UP. Here are some ways you can make a difference in your Local Government and affect change in Prison Reform. Oh yeah, and I don’t think we can say this loud enough: VOTE!
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Research and Vote:
  • Research your local and national candidates and their track records on racial justice issues.
    • Want a non-biased list of where our two presidential candidates stand on policies? Take a look here: https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/candidates
  • Research your local prosecutors. Prosecutors have a lot of power to give fair sentences or Draconian ones, influence a judge’s decision to set bail or not, etc.
Contact your representative: Call or write to your city or state government representative to address the following issues:
  • Replace Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day like these cities did.
  • Google whether your local police department currently outfits all on-duty police officers with a body-worn camera and requires that the body-worn camera be turned on immediately when officers respond to a police call. If they don’t, advocate for it. The racial make-up of your town doesn’t matter – this needs to be standard everywhere. Multiply your voice by soliciting others to advocate as well, writing on social media about it, writing op-eds, etc.
  • Read up about mandatory minimum sentences and watch videos about this on Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM’s) website. The site includes work being done at the federal level and state level. Reach out to your local officials about reducing mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug crimes.
  • Learn about the current cash bail system. This means that someone who may be legally innocent is put in jail because they can’t afford bail, and it also means that a defendant can be released pre-trial because of their wealth, not how much of a flight risk they are. It puts more people in detention (which taxpayers pay for) and affects a defendant’s ability to maintain employment, access mental and physical healthcare, and be in communication with their loved ones. Housing the approximately 500,000 people in jail in the US awaiting trial who cannot afford bail costs US taxpayers $9 billion a year.*
*Many thanks to the work of Michelle Panchuk and Corinne Shutack for gathering these suggestions

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Many other discussions/performances are very general, but this performance led to a very nuanced discussion of communication.

University of Alabama Birmingham graduate student

I appreciated the chance to actually interact with the characters and see how they feel and think.

Washington and Jefferson College undergraduate student

The Theater Delta experience made it real; this format is significantly better than lecture.

North Dakota State University faculty member

The acting was amazing. I also loved the instructor. Very engaging.

Rush University undergraduate student

I wish you guys could do this for Congress! We would have a better government. Thank you, Theater Delta, for making me a better person and the world a better place.

Emory University faculty member

Theater Delta did a great job. This should be done on every college campus.

Rush University undergraduate student

Interactive Theater is a very interesting, novel way to teach ethics. These were very relatable issues.

Duke University graduate student, Duke Pratt MEM Program

The facilitator draws in and wraps up each point – he was very effective in addressing key points and leading the discussion.

Duke University faculty member, BioCoRE Program

This performance was highly engaging and interesting. Very thought-provoking.

North Dakota State University faculty member

This performance provided us with opportunities to share ideas in a non-threatening environment.

University of California-Santa Barbara faculty member

The open conversation allowed for many ideas to be shared and a deeper understanding to develop.

Washington and Jefferson College incoming freshman

I learned that Interactive Theater is a heck of a good teaching tool.

University of Alabama Birmingham faculty member

After experiencing this performance, I intend to become an advocate rather than sitting in the shadows.

Columbia College-South Carolina undergraduate student

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