V-DAY BEYOND INCARCERATION PROJECT
The Beyond Incarceration Project took flight this year . Led by Roslyn “ Roz ” Smith , V-Day participated in a series of events advocating for the rights of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women and men on subjects such as elder parole and alternatives to policing . Roz partnered with the National Council for Incarcerated & Formerly Incarcerated and Release Aging People in Prison ( RAPP ) among other groups participating in events , policy dialogues and meetings with political representatives . She expanded her V-Day Beyond Incarceration Project series of blogs on topics ranging from parole justice to Covid ’ s impact on incarcerated populations .
On March 12 , Roslyn joined the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls at Washington DC to call on President Biden to use the underutilized presidential power of clemency and write about her experiences at the rally . The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls and # FreeHer campaign called on President Biden to grant clemency to 100 women in his first 100 days of office , as President Biden and Vice President Harris have campaigned on implementing their Biden-Harris Plan for Strengthening America ’ s Commitment to Justice , which seeks to reduce the number of incarcerated individuals while rooting out the racial , gender , and income-based disparities within the criminal justice system . With over 231,000 women and girls incarcerated in the United States during a deadly pandemic , now is the time for immediate action .
Miami Women ’ s Fund Executive Director Marya Meyer ( also OBR Miami coordinator ) invited Roz to be the keynote speaker at their recent Miami Women ’ s Fund ’ s Impact Collaborative : Freedom From Violence : To Incarceration and Beyond .
New this year is the creation of the Right / Write to Heal : Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women in Their Own Voices , a partnership with V-Day and the Center for Justice at Columbia University . The Center for Justice was co-founded and is now codirected by Kathy Boudin and Cheryl Wilkins , who met while incarcerated at Bedford Hills Correctional Center . While at Bedford , Kathy participated in an ongoing writing group facilitated by V . Through the Right / Write to Heal pilot groups at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in New York and The Southern Maine Women ’ s Reentry Center in Maine , incarcerated women use the process of writing to reflect on their lives .