Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Sarah Weissman, Communications Specialist
(410) 685-4186 | [email protected]
Date: November 21, 2018
MASS INCARCERATION’S IMPACT ON FAMILIES EXPLORED
"Is Justice Just?" Series Continues in Baltimore
(Baltimore, MD) – Maryland Humanities welcomes author, community leader, and workforce development specialist Tony Lewis, Jr. to the Motor House on December 8. Lewis will speak about the impact of mass incarceration on children and families, followed by a Q&A session. The 2:00 p.m. event is part of the organization’s discussion series centering on reform of the US criminal justice system, entitled “Is Justice Just?”
Lewis is a re-entry expert and champion for children with incarcerated parents. He is also the son of one of Washington, D.C.’s most infamous drug Kingpins who suddenly had to navigate the dramatic turn his life took following his father’s incarceration in 1989. Mr. Lewis will talk about his struggle with the loss of stability, isolation, the breakdown of his family after his father entered federal prison, his personal path to success, and how laws and practices within the criminal justice system continue to feed the cycle of mass incarceration.
The event is free, but reservations are required. We recommend that you and your guests arrive together. Note that your reservation is not the equivalent of a ticket. Please arrive early as any seats remaining when the program begins will be open to walk-up attendees. Seats can be reserved here. The Motor House is located at 120 West North Avenue in Baltimore City.
Maryland Humanities began the “Is Justice Just?” series in October with a screening of Inside the Executioner’s Shadow, a documentary about the death penalty, followed by a discussion with filmmaker Rick Stack and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist E.R. Shipp. The series will continue with two more events in early 2019. Maryland Humanities has partnered with The Baltimore Sun, Curatorial Practice MFA at MICA, and Choose Civility Howard County, led by Howard County Library System.
This series is part of the “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” Initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The series is made possible through the generosity of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the partnership of the Pulitzer Prizes. Additional support for programming in Maryland has been provided by Venable Foundation and Baltimore Bar Foundation.