Calls From Home In Solidarity with Free The Mississippi Five

Calls From Home & The Campaign to Free The Mississippi Five: A Film Screening

Come join Look2Justice, Study And Struggle, and Working Films as we watch "Calls From Home" and hear from a panel of local and national organizers in solidarity in the campaign to Free The Mississippi Five.

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: The Mississippi Five are a group of women who were sentenced to life with the possibility of parole during the “Tough on Crime”-era of the late 1980s and early 1990s. They are now between the ages of 59 and 82 years old. Despite their achievements, personal growth, the loss of loved ones outside, and even recantations of key witnesses, they continue to be denied parole irrespective of their actions. The Mississippi Five have collectively been imprisoned for over 175 years and denied parole 47 times. The campaign fights to Free the Five while exposing the parole board's function, in the words of organizer Pauline Rogers, as "judge, jury, and executioner."

About and : Calls from Home (2023, dir. Sylvia Ryerson) is an "intimate portrait of rural Pr*son expansion" that "documents WMMT-FM’s longstanding radio show that sends messages over the public airwaves to reach those incarcerated in Central Appalachia. For many, the show provides a lifeline to the world outside. Sharing the stories of the family and friends who call in, and those who listen in from Pr*son, the film portrays the many forms of distance that rural Pr*son building creates—and the ceaseless search to end this system of mass incarceration and family separation."

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A post-film panel discussion will feature:

• Pauline Rogers and Jessica Sylvia from the Campaign to Free the Mississippi Five
• Chris Blackwell and Eugene Youngblood from Look2Justice
• Moderated by Tacoma-based educator and author Emily Thuma.

After the film screening and panel, we will be hosting a little community building space with light refreshments. Additionally posters from Calls From Home, zines, books, and more will be available for purchase throughout the night.

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All proceeds from this event will be donated to Free the Mississippi Five. If you'd like to make a futher contribution, please consider donating here: https://haymarketbooks.app.neoncrm.com/campaigns/free-the-mississippi-five

Host or Publisher Look2Justice