Past: Reimagining Violence Prevention

This event was originally scheduled for February 24, but will now take place on April 27. 

Ashley Southall of The New York Times leads a discussion about the powerful programs and techniques that activists and organizations in New York and other cities have employed to foster safety in their communities -- without police involvement. From practicing "violence interruption" to advocating for policies that directly address contributors to gun violence, the panel features pathbreaking experts who have worked on the front lines and behind the scenes to reimagine safety for all. This is the second event in our virtual series, Envisioning Alternatives to Policing.  

About the Speakers:
Erica Ford has dedicated her life to the liberation of her people from oppression & racism. Her journey began on December 12, 1987 with the December 12th Movement and she hasn’t looked back. She is a humble servant for her people. As CEO & Co-Founder of LIFE Camp, Inc she has played a major role in transforming New York City as an architect for the city’s Crisis Management System, The New York City Mobile Trauma Units, and New York City Peace Week. She will continue to dedicate her LIFE to youth & the total liberation of her people until her last breath.

Mayor Svante L. Myrick was sworn into office in January 2012 and became, at 24, the City of Ithaca's youngest Mayor and first Mayor of color. Myrick was first elected to the Common Council at the age of 20 while still a junior at Cornell University. His accomplishments include sorely needed revisions to the City of Ithaca's sidewalk policy, an overhaul of storm water utility legislation, successful implementation and completion of the total rehabilitation of the Commons, Ithaca's downtown pedestrian mall, and making changes within the Ithaca Police Department in an effort to improve police and community relations.

Danielle Sered envisioned and directs Common Justice, which develops and advances practical and groundbreaking solutions to violence that advance racial equity, meet the needs of those harmed, and do not rely on incarceration. Before planning the launch of Common Justice, Sered served as the deputy director of the Vera Institute of Justice’s Adolescent Reentry Initiative, a program for young men returning from incarceration on Rikers Island. She the author of The Other Side of Harm: Addressing Disparities in our Responses to Violence, Accounting for Violence: How to Increase Safety and Break Our Failed Reliance on Mass Incarceration, and the book Until We Reckon: Violence, Mass Incarceration, and a Road to Repair.

Ashley Southall (moderator) is a law enforcement reporter focused on crime and policing in New York City, a beat she started working in 2016. She joined The Times in 2008 as a news clerk in the newspaper's Washington bureau. Southall is an alumna of Howard University and an Alabamian.