February 25, 2024, 3:00 pm
Add to iCal | Add to Google Calendar
Akeem Browder’s Story – How much does a backpack really cost?
Temple Israel Center Sunday, February 25, 2023 at 3:00 – 5:00 PM
Please join Racial Justice Committees from area synagogues and meet Akeem Browder, brother turned advocate to help reform our criminal justice system.
Akeem Browder, president of the Kalief Browder Foundation, will share the story of his youngest brother, Kalief Browder (1993-2015)– a victim of wrongful imprisonment and carceral violence. At age 16, Kalief was taken from his mother, family and community, and was condemned to three years on Rikers Island, often in solitary confinement. It was alleged by authorities that he stole a backpack. After three years, he was released without ever being charged with a crime. The impact of this accusation was devastating; as his life was slowly tortured and ultimately stolen.
Through sharing his family’s firsthand experience, Akeem will help us examine the inequities in our justice system, understand how incarceration disproportionately impacts Black and Brown communities, and facilitate what we can do about it, as individuals and as a community.