This academic year, we plan to highlight guest speakers' personal experiences working and engaging in activism in justice-related causes. Justice takes many forms and exists in many arenas, both in and outside of the formal criminal justice system. This program within the Criminal Justice Series explores traditional and alternative forms of justice, using personal experiences to illuminate how efforts to improve justice are carried out.

We are so excited to have Jen Marlowe as our first guest speaker for our Activism in Action event! Jen is an author, filmmaker, and activist for international human rights; she is involved in a number of pursuits of justice for vulnerable people and groups worldwide. In the United States, Jen worked with Troy Davis and his family prior to what was very likely his wrongful execution in 2011 and later published the family’s story in her book, I am Troy Davis. Jen will talk about her experience with Troy Davis and his family and the death penalty more generally as it is connected to other forms of state violence. She also will discuss her play, There Is A Field, about Aseel Asleh, a 17-year old Palestinian citizen of Israel who was killed by police. As with Troy Davis’s story, Aseel Asleh’s story provides a personal lens through which larger structural problems are illuminated—in this case, how inequality is at the root of state violence and how the court systems uphold structures of oppression. Jen’s work is inspiring, and we look forward to having you join us!

This event will be recorded for anyone unable to attend.