Dr. Boyce Watkins and Russell Simmons Seek to Rebuild Families by Ending the Mass Incarceration Epidemic. They have gathered a coalition of supporters from various walks of life to stand together to correct the serious injustices of the prison industrial complex. Rehabilitation and even punishment are acceptable in themselves, but when a nation builds an entire economy around the unjust incarceration of millions of its citizens, that nation is serving as a tool for its own demise. Families are destroyed when citizens are given extraordinarily long prison sentences for even the smallest crimes, and the failed War on Drugs has created an entire generation of lost children, who’ve grown up without the support and guidance of two loving parents.
The appeal to President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder is not written as an attack, but with the goal of persuading the Obama Administration to lend its considerable resources to productive efforts to help solve the problem. If you support this initiative and would like to join our efforts, please sign up at this link.
As Dr. Boyce Watkins said, “This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We’re in this for the long haul.” So far, the effort has gotten the attention of media outlets world-wide, for it’s the first time such a vast coalition of public figures, scholars, faith leaders and activists have come together for such an important cause. We truly have the chance to make a difference.
Celebrities and public figures who’ve signed onto the letter thus far:
CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS & ADVOCATES
Julian Bond
Dr. Benjamin Chavis
Rev. Jesse Jackson, Rainbow PUSH
Benjamin Todd Jealous, NAACP
Avis Jones-Deweever, National Council of Negro Women
Maria Theresa Kumar, VotoLatino
Donna Leiberman, NYCLU
Margaret Moran, LULAC
Marc Morial, National Urban League
Ethan Nadelmann, Drug Policy Alliance
Rev. Al Sharpton, NAN
Rashad Robinson, Colors of Change
Anthony Romero, ACLU
Michael Skolnik
Julie Stewart, Families Against Mandatory Minimums
Susan Taylor
Dr. Boyce Watkins
Brent Wilkes, LULAC
Vanessa Williams, National Conference of Black Mayors
Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Hip-Hop Caucus
ENTERTAINMENT
La La Anthony
Roseanne Barr
Russell Brand
Jim Carrey
Cedric The Entertainer
Margaret Cho
Affion Crockett
Rosario Dawson
Mike Epps
Omar Epps
Jamie Foxx
Tyrese Gibson
Jon Hamm
Hill Harper
Woody Harrelson
Amber Heard
Dule Hill
Ron Howard
J Ivy
Terrence J
Eugene Jarecki
Kris Jenner
Scarlett Johannson
Kim Kardashian
Khloe Kardashian-Odom
Kourtney Kardashian
Sanaa Lathan
LL Cool J
Nia Long
Eva Longoria
AnnaLynne McCord
Michael Moore
Keya Morgan
Jay Pharaoh
Dominic Purcell
Tim Robbins
Chris Rock
Susan Sarandon
Sarah Silverman
Russell Simmons
Vanessa Simmons
Jada Pinkett Smith
Will Smith
Tika Sumpter
Gabrielle Union
Denise Vasi
Estella Warren
Kerry Washington
Pauletta Washington
Marlon Wayans
Jesse Williams
Jeffrey Wright
FAITH COMMUNITY
Bishop James Clark
Bishop Noel Jones
Bishop Clarence Laney
Bishop Edgar Vann
Dr. Iva Carruthers
Deepak Chopra
Father Michael Pfleger
Rabbi Robyn Fryer Bodzin
Rabbi Menachem Creditor
Rabbi Nina Mandel
Rev. Jamal Bryant
Rev. Delman Coates
Rev. Leah D. Daughtry
Rev. Dr. Fredrick Haynes
Rev. Michael McBride
Rev. Dr. W Franklyn Richardson
MUSIC INDUSTRY
David Banner
Eric Benet
Andre “3000” Benjamin
Big Boi of Outkast
Case
Charlamagne tha God
Sean “Diddy” Combs
Chuck D
DJ Envy
DJ Pauly D
Ani Difranco
Jermaine Dupri
Missy Elliot
Estelle
Jason Flom
John Forte
Ghostface Killah
Ginuwine
Keri Hilson
Jennifer Hudson
Ice-T
Luke James
Trinidad James
Lyfe Jennings
Jim Jones
Talib Kweli
John Legend
Ryan Leslie
Joanna “JoJo” Levesque
Kevin Liles
Ludacris
Lil Wayne
Natalie Maines
Angie Martinez
Nicki Minaj
Mya
Q-Tip
Busta Rhymes
Steve Rifkind
Samantha Ronson
Rick Ross
RZA
Timeflies
Katrina “Trina” Taylor
Teyana Taylor
Angela Yee
BUSINESS LEADERS
Sir Richard Branson
Ron Busby, US Black Chamber of Commerce
Daymond John – Founder, Fubu/Host of the TV Show “Shark Tank”
Chip Rosenbloom, Owner St. Louis Rams
Bobby Shriver
ELECTED OFFICIALS
Congressman Tony Cardenas
Congressman Keith Ellison
Congresswoman Marcia Fudge
Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Congressman Bobby Rush
Congressman Bobby Scott
ATHLETES
Brendon Ayanbadejo
Allan Houston – Assistant GM, New York Knicks
Israel Idonije
Lamar Odom
Etan Thomas
Isiah Thomas
Mike Tyson
FASHION INDUSTRY
Tyson Beckford
Selita Ebanks
Kenza Fourati
Kimora Lee Simmons
Veronika Verekova
MEDIA
Chris Broussard
Chuck Creekmur, AllHipHop.com
Ed Gordon
TJ Holmes
Dylan Ratigan
Jim Wallis, Sojourners
Dave Zirin
ACADEMIA & THOUGHT LEADERS
Rick Adams, Chair – Institute of the Black World 21st Century
Michelle Alexander – The Ohio State University
Dr. Carlton Brown, President, Clark Atlanta Univ.
Dr. Ron Daniels – President, Institute of the Black World 21st Century
Prof. Michael Eric Dyson- Georgetown University
Dr. Christopher Emdin – Columbia University
Dr. Michael Fauntroy – George Mason University
Dr. Eddie Glaude – Princeton University
Airickca Gordon-Taylor, Founding director of the Mamie Till Mobley Memorial Foundation
Dream Hampton – Author of the best-selling book, “Decoded”
Dr. Jawanza Kunjufu
Dr. Marc Lamont Hill – Columbia University
Naomi Klein
Dr . Wilmer Leon – Howard University
Dr. Julianne Malveaux
Dr. John E. Maupin, Jr., President, Morehouse School of Medicine
Kevin Powell
Ricky “Freeway” Ross
Dr. Tyra Seldon, Co Chair, Education Over Incarceration (EOI)
Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, President, Spelman College
Dr. Alicia Taylor-McLaughlin, St. Francis University
Terrie Williams, Author of the best-selling book, “Black Pain”
Dr. John Silvanus Wilson, Jr., President, Morehouse College
