Last night, the Enoch Pratt Free Library and OSI-Baltimore co-sponsored an event with author Peter Edelman and professor Lester Spence at North Baltimore’s Church of the Redeemer as part of OSI’s Talking About Race series and the Pratt’s Writer’s LIVE series.
Edelman discussed his new book, Not a Crime to Be Poor: The Criminalization of Poverty in America, which chronicles the many government policies that penalize people–disproportionately people of color–for their economic status. He and Spence, who discussed his most recent book, Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics, at a 2016 Talking About Race event, discussed the range of responses to this criminalization, including legislative policy change and community organizing.
In her introduction, OSI Director Diana Morris referenced two recent reports relevant to the conversation: OSI’s report on the crucial role of statewide pretrial services in bail reform, Steps in the Right Direction: Maryland Counties Leading the Way in Pretrial Service; And a new report just released by OSI grantee, the Job Opportunities Task Force, The Criminalization of Poverty: How to break the cycle through policy reform in Maryland.
