Tag Archives: justice

50th Anniversary Dr. Martin Luther King’s Letter From Birmingham Jail – SJ Public Library Celebration

by Bob Rucker

1963 was the year the nation watched as the evolving events in Birmingham, Alabama, marked a turning point in the long struggle for freedom. On Good Friday, April 12, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was arrested for his non-violent protest. A few days later on April 16, while still in jail, Dr. King wrote his prophetic epistle Letter From Birmingham Jail to fight against racial segregation.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary, the Birmingham Public Library is sponsoring a worldwide event where participants will read Dr. King’s Letter at various locations around the globe.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, is honored to be one of those worldwide locations. This event was held, toda, Tuesday April 16 at noon, in the lobby of the King Library, where San Jose State University and the San Jose Public Library will host collective readings of the “Letter.”

We celebrate the courage and defiance of the citizens of Birmingham in their ongoing efforts to fight bravely against oppression and for the right to live as equals.

If you could come to the library, please join the celebration and read the letter on April 16, to yourself or out loud, wherever you may be, and walk for a brief moment in the footsteps of the men and women who fought and believed that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

In partnering with the library, Dr. Michael Cheers, photojournalism professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications, had on display during the reading, a series of photographs featuring Bay Area ministers that illustrate Dr. King at the time of his arrest and jailing.
Thank you to all those who joined us at the event.

Record Clearance Project (RCP) Transforms the Lives of Client-Participants and Students

by JS Department

The San José State University (SJSU) Record Clearance Project (RCP) engages undergraduates in assisting eligible people to clear their criminal records.  Begun in January 2008, each semester the work culminates in a court hearing where a judge considers the petitions that SJSU undergraduates prepare on behalf of their clients.

An article by Lena Ramalho, which appeared in the Metro this past Wednesday, highlighted the transformative work done in the RCP.  The article can be found here:
http://www.sanjose.com/news/2012/11/21/record_clearance_project_at_san_jose_state ; PDF version of this cool story can be found here: (see p. 8): http://issuu.com/metrosiliconvalley/docs/1247_mt/8?mode=a_p

The program is driven by San Jose State students and helps clients in the justice system correct and/or expunge criminal records.  The RCP is advised and organized by a dynamic team of professional lawyers, academics, students, ad community volunteers including Margaret (Peggy) Stevenson, JD, RCP Director; Hal Peterson, JD, who practiced law for 15 years in Michigan and then Washington; Mark Correia, Ph.D., Chair of the Justice Studies Department, an Associate Professor, and an expert in police and community relations;  and Danielle A. Harris, Ph.D.,  Assistant Professor of Justice Studies and an expert on sex offenders, contemporary problems in justice studies, and justice evaluation and policy analysis.

RCP Director Stevenson has noted that students have helped 151 clients file petitions in court to expunge criminal records or have felonies reduced to misdemeanors. In the past year, 133 petitions have been filed on behalf of 52 clients. These are important steps in integrating community oversight into the justice system to ensure that all persons receive fair and equitable treatment including sentencing, parole, probation, and record keeping.

Reflecting on her experiences an RCP student stated, “We go through every step with the client. We write the petitions, meet with the lawyer. We’re there with them in the courtroom. When everything is done and they come back to us and say, ‘You changed my life,’ I’m amazed. I can’t believe I changed someone’s life.”

The RCP is a strong advertisement for metropolitan-university community engagement; the integration of SJSU justice studies students into this community project results in transformations for all parties involved.  Here students are engaged in the righteous work of social justice and the active building of equity back into the justice system.

More information about the program can be found here: http://justicestudies.sjsu.edu/research/record-clearance-project/

Information about the SJSU Justice Studies Department can be found here: http://justicestudies.sjsu.edu/

CONTACT THE RCP

Please contact the SJSU Record Clearance Project at sjsurcp@gmail.com or leave a message at (408) 924-2758.

Twitter: @sjsurcp

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Record-Clearance-Project/217577251599493