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We hope that audience members will consider using this link to rent or purchase the film 16 Bars prior to this conversation. Of course you will still be able to enjoy the conversation and reading from author Marlon Peterson without having screened the film ahead of time.Please support Auntie's Bookstore by using this link to purchase books by festival authors. This reading and conversation will focus on using creativity to begin shifting our current justice system's approach from punishment to healing. The event celebrates the film
16 Bars, an intimate look at the lives of four inmates who are a part of a unique rehabilitation effort that involves writing and recording original music. The film follows their personal and artistic development as they produce and record with Grammy-winning recording artist, Todd “Speech” Thomas, from the hip-hop group Arrested Development. For this event, Speech will be joined by national social and criminal justice advocate, writer, and educator Marlon Peterson. Peterson is the author of
Bird Uncaged, a powerful 21st century abolitionist memoir that demands a shift from punishment to healing, an end to mass incarceration, and a new vision of justice. Following a reading from
Bird Uncaged, Eastern Washington University Chicana/o/x Studies professor Dr. Martín Meráz García will lead a conversation about transformative justice and how creativity and vulnerability, especially through the written word, can offer a path to true healing.
