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Donaldsonville
Exonerated Exhibit
Power in Print
Tuesday, October 21st, JSRI Affiliate Fellow Dr. Pablo Zavala is holding a talk about how Chicano farmworkers in the 1960s and 70s used protest art and militant imagery to shape politics, identity, and community. This lecture will be in the Monroe Library Multimedia Room 1 (MM1) at 12:30 P.M.
California’s Chicano farmworkers’ struggle in the 1960s and 1970s synthesized protest graphic art and militant propaganda to shape politics, community and citizenship. In this talk, Dr. Zavala will discuss how workers channeled their Indigenous heritage and Catholic devoutness through their prints, in dialogue with strikes, boycotts and protests, to challenge a settler colonialism propagated by the state, in collusion with agribusiness, and exacerbated by racism and gendered class exploitation.

The Ripple Effects of College Prison Programs
Thursday, October 16th, JSRI is holding a panel discussion with the author of The Ripple Effects of College Prison Programs, Taffany Lim, and graduates of California State University's Prison Graduation Initiative in the Octavia Room on the second floor of the Danna Center at 5:30 P.M. The formerly incarcerated students joining Taffany in this discussion defied odds to become college graduates. Taffany has worked alongside incarcerated college students for nearly a decade – her book and this discussion panel offer an intimate look into the barriers, breakthroughs, and ripple effects of prison education programs.

Journey to Justice: Road to Ending Solitary Confinement
This Friday, October 3rd, JSRI is partnering with Unlock the Box for a stop on their “Journey to Justice: Road Map to Ending Torture” tour on Loyola University’s main campus. The mobile museum, showcasing the harsh realities of solitary confinement and mass incarceration, will be open from 8 A.M.–1 P.M. on Loyola Ave. between Miller and Monroe Hall. There will also be a teach-in event from 12–1 P.M. in Miller Hall room 114, featuring JSRI's own Kiana Calloway. Lunch will be provided at the teach-in.
“I still remember the day I realized the harsh realities of solitary confinement,” Kiana Calloway, JSRI Research Associate and Loyola student said. “As someone who is directly impacted and now dedicates my life to addressing the harms caused by the criminal justice system, I've seen firsthand the devastating impact it has on individuals and communities. That's why I'm thrilled to see the Journey to Justice tour coming to Loyola University, bringing attention to this critical issue and providing a platform for survivors to share their stories.”
“'The “Road Map to Ending Torture,' is more than just an event – it's a movement. With New Orleans as the only stop in the South, this is a unique opportunity for our community to come together and demand change,” Calloway said. The event will also screen a short documentary featuring Kiana Calloway and his story of surviving solitary confinement.

Katrina@20
This Friday, August 29th, will mark the 20th anniversary of the landfall of Hurricane Katrina. To commemorate that event, JSRI is partnering with the English department and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center to host Katrina@20: A Day of Remembrance. We'll have a full program of panels, featuring scholars, activists, and writers, from 9 am till 5:30 pm. This event will be held in the Chapel of St. Ignatius on the main campus.
Katrina@20 will launch with a presentation from Bill Quigley at 9 am, titled "Katrina: A Tragedy in Pictures." Subsequent panels will investigate how the storm has impacted housing, healthcare, education, and criminal justice. We'll also hear from local writers, community organizers, and Loyola alums. Additionally, the library will provide a selection of Katrina-related scholarly and photojournalism texts, which will be available for browsing in a reflection room in the chapel. An additional small room in the chapel will be dedicated to an all-day screening of short films created by Loyola students as part of their coursework in the School of Communication and Design.

Download the Novena here.


Second Chance Month Events
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Monday April 3rd, 6-9pm, Roussel Auditorium A powerful and thought-provoking true story about the Equal Justice Initiative, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his history-making battle for justice. Following the film, there will be a short Q&A with David Garlock, a successful returning citizen and criminal justice reform leader. Sharing his powerful testimony of grace and redemption, as well as leveraging his professional expertise and wide-reaching network, David fights for second chances for all and believes that everyone is worthy to be restored. David was a client of the Equal Justice Initiative and participated in the film. |
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Tuesday April 11th, 12:30-1:45pm, Zoom Webinar (Webinar Recording Here) One of the most challenging aspects of higher education in prison is supporting students once they are released. This challenge becomes even more daunting if students face deportation upon completing their prison sentence. Please join us to hear from academics and organizers serving formerly incarcerated people who have been deported after serving a sentence in the US. |
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Tuesday, April 18th, 5-7pm, Audubon Room For forty years, police and prosecutors have weaponized Louisiana’s Crime Against Nature by Solicitation (CANS) law to terrorize queer/trans Louisianians. CANS Can’t Stand follows a group of Black trans women in New Orleans who are fighting to repeal that law—and advance trans liberation across the state. Following the film, there will be a panel with Wendi Cooper, the founder of TRANScending Women, and Bill Quigley, Loyola University Law Professor who worked on repealing the CANS law. |
Tuesday March 14th, 5-7pm, Audubon Room
All Oppression Shall Cease Book Talk and Q&A

Wednesday, October 26th, 2022
6pm, Audubon Room, Danna Student Center
"What Is the Crime Wave?"

"What Is the Crime Wave?" offers three perspectives on the recent spike in crime in New Orleans: as a statistical trend (Ben Horwitz, AH Datalytics), as a scary social phenomenon (Dr. Chuck P. Nichols, Psychology), and as a media event (Dr. Sheryl Kennedy Haydel, Director of the School of Communication and Design). Dr. Marcus M. Kondkar (Sociology) will facilitate a conversation among the speakers to understand what is really happening in our city, and how the concepts we rely on shape our responses to current events.
Sponsored by the Hutchinson Distinguished Professorship, the Composition Program, the Jesuit Social Research Institute, and the Department of Criminology and Justice, this event offers the Loyola community the opportunity to understand a situation that affects us all. The events are free and open to the public--please share widely and encourage your students to come.
Wednesday October 5th, 2022
Latinx Culture, Diplomacy and Law

Monday, October 3rd, 2022
Corrections in Ink: A Memoir - Book Talk by Keri Blakinger
Corrections in Ink: A Memoir tells the story of Keri's journey—from the ice rink to addiction and a prison sentence, to the newsroom—and how she emerged with a fierce determination to expose the broken system she experienced.
The Loyola bookstore will be selling copies of the book at the event, and Keri will be available to sign copies after the discussion.
This event is open to the public and sponsored by the Law Visiting Committee Professorship at Loyola College of Law, the Jesuit Social Research Institute, & the Criminology and Justice Department of the College of Arts and Sciences at Loyola.

September 7th, 2022
How I Cultivated Resilience by Remembering My Name
Constance Paige Young is a speaker, racial justice activist and an advocate for crime victims. She is a survivor of multiple violent crimes, including the racially motivated car attack in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017. Constance now devotes her time to building a radically loving community in the here and now. Informed and transformed by a dynamic journey, she speaks about cultivating resilience through adversity, restorative justice, and informs others on how to best support victims of crime and their loved ones.

June 8th, 2022
Prison Cells to PhD: A talk by Dr. Stanley Andrisse
Dr. Andrisse is a formerly incarcerated person with three felony convictions, sentenced to ten years in prison. He was once told by a prosecuting attorney that he had no hope for change. He is now an endocrinologist scientist, an alumni faculty of Johns Hopkins Medicine and a tenure-track assistant professor at Howard University College of Medicine. His book shares its title with the nonprofit organization he co-founded, From Prison Cells To PhD.

April 7th, 2022
Ending the Death Penalty in Louisiana: An Evening with Sr. Helen Prejean
Twomey Lecture Series


