Hit hard by the foreclosure crisis, unemployment crisis and a large reentry population, many Clevelanders are facing a housing crisis. Unfortunately, individuals searching for low-income housing in the U.S. face barriers that too often prove insurmountable.

Join Maria Smith, Housing Unit supervising attorney, Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, to examine barriers to subsidized housing and the progress being made to give individuals more access.

This is the fifth and final presentation in the 2011 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

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All kids make mistakes. However, financially disadvantaged youth are often penalized more severely in our justice system.

Join Jill Beeler, chief counsel, Juvenile Division, Office of the Public Defender, to discuss the challenges youth experience in the judicial system, especially when they do not have resources.

This is the fourth presentation in the 2011 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

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Across the country, schools are increasingly sending students into the juvenile justice system for misbehavior that used to be handled by school administrators.

Join Dr. Morris Jenkins, chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work at the University of Toledo, for a discussion of the “school to prison pipeline”, the national trend to funnel students out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

This is the third presentation in the 2011 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

 Zero Tolerance = Zero Education [00:54:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Recent changes to Ohio’s election laws will make it harder for all of us to vote.

Join Carrie Davis, ACLU of Ohio staff attorney, to prepare for the next election and ensure your vote counts.

This is the second presentation in the 2011 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

 Can't Pay, Can't Vote [00:57:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In theory, our justice system is designed to ensure a fair trial for every defendant. In practice, there are two justice systems in Ohio: one for the wealthy and one for those who are not. Merely having a limited income should not result in jail time, more serious convictions, or increased sentences.

Join Tim Young, director, Office of the Ohio Public Defender, to examine Ohio’s indigent defense system and the barriers the financially disadvantaged encounter.

This is the first presentation in the 2011 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

Click here to view the corresponding PowerPoint slideshow.

 

 Justice For Some: Institutional Barriers to Defense [01:10:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Hear how student organizers from the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) helped to incorporate the fight for civil rights into the Black Power movement, changing the face of America for generations to come.

Join Hasan Kwame Jeffries, assistant professor of history at The Ohio State University and the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity, will discuss the evolution of the civil rights movement and activism today.

This is the sixth in the 2010 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

Prof. Jeffries’ new book, Bloody Lowndes: Civil Rights and Black Power in Alabama’s Black Belt, will be for sale at the event.

 

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Frustrated state and local governments have begun passing anti-immigrant legislation that amounts to little more than racial profiling and violates due process rights.

Join Veronica Dahlberg, executive director of HOLA, a grassroots community-based Latino organization, for a conversation about the immigration challenges we are facing as a community and suggestions for effective reform.

This is the fifth in the 2010 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

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What does a terrorist look like? Unfortunately, in post 9/11 America, many in government and the media portray “terrorist” and “Muslim” as interchangeable identities. As a result, Muslims are often targets of racial, ethnic and religious profiling.

Join Julia Shearson, executive director for the Cleveland chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Cleveland), for a discussion of religious profiling, national security, and religious freedom.

This is the fourth in the 2010 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

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Twenty years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) people living with physical and mental disabilities continue to be shunned and segregated in schools, housing and employment.

Join Frank Hickman, principal of Hickman & Lowder Co., L.P.A., as he addresses the rights of persons with mental and physical disabilities.

This is the third in the 2010 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

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Far too often municipalities enact unconstitutional ordinances that criminalize homeless people and restrict their access to public space.

Join us for a discussion of the homeless community’s fight for equality with Brian Davis, executive director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and advocate for the estimated 26,000 homeless in the Cleveland area.

This is the second in the 2010 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

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Join Charles See, director of Community Re-Entry, Inc., for a look at the obstacles that prevent formerly incarcerated people from transitioning back to society.

This is the first in the 2010 Brown Bag Lecture Series. View the entire series here.

 

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