Oakland, CA—Dream Corps JUSTICE hosts its annual Day of Empathy to reform criminal justice across all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Canada will take place on March 2, 2021. The nationwide virtual advocacy event is the largest day of action for criminal justice reform in the country and connects people who have been impacted by the criminal justice system with local, state, and federal lawmakers in order to build empathy and promote reform. The 2021 Day of Empathy will focus on legislative reforms with common ground support between political parties, including reducing incarceration, enabling full economic and civic participation of people with a criminal record, and restoring dignity to women behind bars.
Now in its 5th year, Day of Empathy has become a leading force to bridge the gap between lawmakers and communities disproportionately impacted by incarceration. Last year, as COVID-19 shutdowns began, Day of Empathy coordinated over 18 events in 13 states and Canada, engaging 43,000 impacted people and allies, in meetings with lawmakers to lend their voice and expertise to develop criminal justice policy solutions that will impact all of our families, lives, and communities. By focusing on humanizing people behind bars and their spouses, children, parents, friends, and crime survivors, Day of Empathy and its network of changemakers have successfully motivated justice reform legislation in 35 states.
In addition to leading the Day of Empathy, the Dream Corps JUSTICE team has been responsible for a series of bipartisan legislative victories over the past five years, including passing the historic First Step Act and leading the Dignity for Incarcerated Women campaign, which changed laws in more than a dozen states. To date, these efforts brought more than 16,000 people home from prison and positively changed conditions for more than 32,000 incarcerated women.
Louis L. Reed, Director of Organizing and Partnerships for Dream Corps JUSTICE, said: “Without empathy, we cannot achieve meaningful policy changes to criminal justice reform that keep our communities safe, our families whole, and our economy strong. As our country faces a historic moment to welcome in a new era, Day of Empathy will bring together storytellers, media partners, criminal justice advocates, and leaders at the local, state, and federal level to advance justice and motivate life-changing progress.”
VIRTUAL SUMMIT:
Along with activations across all 50 states, Dream Corps JUSTICE will also hold a virtual Day of Empathy summit on March 2 featuring CNN commentator and Dream Corps JUSTICE founder, Van Jones along with storytellers, media industry insiders, technology leaders, and policy experts to highlight opportunities for justice reform in 2021. For more information, visit Day of Empathy.
Dream Corps JUSTICE Day of Empathy to Reform Criminal Justice
Tuesday March 2, 2021 at 6pm EST
This is an online event. All are welcome. To participate, register at thedreamcorps.org/empathysummit
ABOUT DREAM CORPS
Dream Corps closes prison doors and opens doors of opportunity through our nationally renowned programs Dream Corps JUSTICE, TECH, and GREEN For All. We bring people together across racial, social, and partisan lines to create a future with freedom and dignity for all. We are working to build a future where “we the people” means all of us. Learn more at thedreamcorps.org.
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