Theme: Justice Talks

Join us as we examine topics of prisoner re-entry, the effects of mass incarceration on various populations, the redefinition of race, law, and civil rights in the 21st century through a feminist perspective, poetic justice, LGBTQ and sex worker rights, and alternatives to mass incarceration and social injustices.

This symposium is open to the public, and will feature five speakers, three performances, and a social justice workshop/mixer. We invite you to join us as we dedicate this night to the sharing of our stories and our solutions to modern injustices.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice
524 W 59th St
Black Box Theater, New Building
New York, New York, 10019
United States

Gloria Browne-Marshall

Gloria J. Browne-Marshall is an Associate Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College and a member of the Gender Studies faculty. Prior to academia, she was a civil rights attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, and NAACP LDF. She speaks nationally and internationally on constitutional and human rights issues, generally, and of concern to women, children and people of color, in particular. Her forthcoming works include: "She Took Justice: The Black Woman's Fight for Freedom in America, 1619-1969" as well as a book on voting rights. Gloria is the author of "Race, Law, and American Society: 1607 to Present" (Routledge). "Race, Law" is the seminal book connecting racial justice over 400 years in the areas of education, voting rights, property rights, criminal justice, the military, and internationalism involving African-Americans, Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans. Gloria Browne-Marshall is Founder/Director of The Law and Policy Group, Inc., a 501(c)3 'think tank' for the community which publishes "The Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls(r)," the only ongoing report on the state of Black females in America. Gloria is the U.S. Supreme Court correspondent for AANIC (African-American News & Information Consortium). Her weekly syndicated column is published in newspapers in New York City, Washington, D.C., Milwaukee, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, and St. Louis. She has provided commentary for CBS, CBSN, CNN, ABC, NPR, C-Span as well as regular radio commentary for BBC America, WBAI (New York City) and WVON (Chicago). Gloria is the recipient of the NAACP Ethel Lawrence Trailblazer Award, Association of Black Women Attorney's award, the New York County Lawyers' Ida B. Wells award for work on gender and race issues, the Woman of Excellence in Law award from Wiley College (Texas), and the Community Action award from Black Star News.

Greg Donaldson

Professor Greg Donaldson is an Associate Professor in the Communications and Theater Arts Department at John Jay College. He is a graduate of Brown University and holds a Masters Degree in Urban Education from Fordham University. He has taught on every level from elementary school to college and in the New York prison system. A widely published magazine writer on youth crime, police and urban issues, Donaldson was for many years a contributing editor a Vibe and Men’s Journal Magazine. He is the author of “The Hip Reader” and “The Ville: Cops and Kids in Urban America” about the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. The Los Angeles Times called “The Ville” “Smart, noble and potentially restorative”. His latest book, “Zebratown” The True Story of a Black Ex Con and a White single Mother in Small Town America” published by Scribners in August of 2010 has been described as “grim, poignant and illuminating” by Kirkus Reviews.

Jeremy Travis

President Jeremy Travis is president of John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New York. Prior to his appointment, he served as a Senior Fellow in the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center, where he launched a national research program focused on prisoner reentry into society. From 1994-2000, Travis directed the National Institute of Justice, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Justice. Prior to his service in Washington, he was Deputy Commissioner for Legal Matters for the New York City Police Department (1990-1994), a Special Advisor to New York City Mayor Edward I. Koch (1986-89), and Special Counsel to the Police Commissioner of the NYPD (1984-86). Before joining city government, Travis spent a year as a law clerk to then-U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. He began his career in criminal justice working as a legal services assistant for the Legal Aid Society, New York’s indigent defense agency. He has taught courses on criminal justice, public policy, history and law at Yale College, the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York Law School and George Washington University. He has a J.D. from the New York University School of Law, an M.P.A. from the New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, and a B.A. in American Studies from Yale College. He is the author of But They All Come Back: Facing the Challenges of Prisoner Reentry (Urban Institute Press, 2005), co-editor (with Christy Visher) of Prisoner Reentry and Crime in America (Cambridge University Press, 2005), and co-editor (with Michelle Waul) of Prisoners Once Removed: The Impact of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families, and Communities (Urban Institute Press, 2003). He has published numerous book chapters, articles and monographs on constitutional law, criminal law and criminal justice policy.

Kate D'Adamo

Kate D'Adamo is a National Policy Advocate at the Sex Workers Project focusing on the intersecting issues of criminalization of HIV and sex work. Prior to joining SWP, Kate was a community organizer and advocate for folks in the sex trade with the Sex Workers Outreach Project and Sex Workers Action New York. In this role, Kate developed programming to promote community building, provide peer support and advance political advocacy to support the rights of people engaged in the sex trade both on and off the job. Prior to this, she worked on issues of economic justice and workers rights at the International Commission for Labor Rights, Global Workers Justice Alliance and the Open Society Foundation, as well as the Human Rights for All Campaign, which sought to integrate sex worker rights into the UN’s Universal Periodic Review. She has a BA in Political Science from California Polytechnic State University and an MA in International Affairs from The New School University.

Professor Kimora

Professor Kimora teaches courses in corrections, ethics, and leadership at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She is an internationally known scholar in the field of correctional education who has published numerous professional articles on the subject. In March of this year, she published two books: 1) Ethnic Profiling: a Modern Framework and 2) When Young People Break the Law: Debating Issues on Punishment for Juveniles. In April of this year, Professor Kimora was named the number ONE criminal justice professor in the United States by Criminal Justice Pursuit. In 2012, Princeton Review named her the SECOND best professor in the United States. Dr. Kimora is an elected official of the University Faculty Senate, which represents John Jay College faculty at the City University of New York (CUNY). She has served on the University Faculty Senate for almost five years. Professor Kimora received her Ph.D. in Education from the University of Minnesota. She is also an ordained interfaith minister, counseling people in prison and jails. She is Education Director at the Osborne Association, a prison re-entry program based in New York City. She teaches in the El Rio program, which aids parolees and probationers. She teaches cognitive skills to those in and out of prison and has done that work through the Osborne Association, as well as the New York City Justice Corps, a part of the Prison Re-entry Institute at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and other prisons in Canada, California, Minnesota and Utah for over two decades. Professor Kimora is committed to transforming the field of corrections in the United States so the emphasis is on education and not punishment. She is marred to the love of her life, Dr. Todd C. Patton, M.D., who is a physician.

Crystal Leigh Endsley

Crystal Leigh Endsley, Ph D is Assistant Professor in Africana Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in NYC. Crystal Leigh was recently honored as the Sojourner Truth awardee for 2014 by George Mason University for her social justice work. Recognized by Cosmopolitan Magazine as a “Fun, Fearless Female,” Crystal Leigh is part performer, part professor, and she serves her community as an internationally acclaimed spoken word artist and activist. For the past eight years, Crystal Leigh has traveled across the United States and the world to lead arts as activism workshops with global communities and on college campuses. Her first book The Fifth Element: Social Justice Pedagogy through Spoken Word Poetry is forthcoming from SUNY Press in March 2016.

Debonair Steppers

John Jay Step Dance Team Step team infused with school spirit performs at events and local step competitions. Their organization’s statement is to step with style, class, body, and grace.