Town-Hall Meeting on Rescinding the Rockefeller Drug Laws

February 18, 2001

The movement to rescind New York state's infamous Rockefeller Drug laws is gaining momentum as evidenced by the over 400 people who turned out Thursday, February 15th at Harlem's Convent Baptist church at a Town-Hall Meeting on the Rockefeller Drug laws. The forum was cosponsored by the Interfaith Partnership for Criminal Justice in New York City and the Black Radical Congress United New York chapter.

The program was introduced by Rev. Carolyn Holloway of the Dewitt Reformed Church and IFP steering Committee member. Speakers included Manning Marable, national co-chair of the Black Radical Congress, Harlem Councilman Bill Perkins, Deborah Peterson Small of the Lindesmith Center, Joe Haslip, representing state Senator David Patterson, and representatives of Senators Velmanettte Montgomery, and Tom Duane and Assembly Scott Stringer.

Dr. Marable, speaking to the packed house on behalf of the United New York Black Radical Congress, stated that the time was overdue to repeal the Rockefeller Drug laws. "Prisons are a means of warehousing unemployed labor and exploiting it through outsourcing," he said. "This labor encompasses millions of people. It is not paid and it is not counted."

Marable continued, "Nationally, at any given day, there are on average about 5.4 million Americans who are involved in some aspect of the criminal justice system -- with two million in federal and state prisons and county jails, and millions of others on probation, parole, or awaiting trial. In about ten states, people convicted of felonies who have served their time and have left prison, are nevertheless denied the right to vote for life. More than 4.3 million Americans have lost the right to vote for life; about 1.7 million of those disenfranchised are African Americans. About 13 percent of all black men have lost the right to vote for their entire lives."

He concluded, "The moral challenge here is like that of the civil rights movement. In fact this is the moral challenge of the day. We must all take a personal stance. The Rockefeller Drug laws are morally indefensible. It destroys families. It destroys people. They must be overcome."

Assemblyman Stringer added his voice to those calling for repealing the drug laws, citing growing public outrage over their unfairness. Councilman Bill Perkins also voiced his support for the campaign. He thanked the organizers of the event, singling out the United New York Black Radical Congress. "I am honored to be associated with the Black Radical Congress" he said, "They are doing some great work in the community."

Many in the audience participated in the speak out portion of the agenda, relating the horrors inflicted on themselves and their families by the laws requiring mandatory sentencing and allowing judges no discretion.

Some speakers noted that over 2 million prisoners are housed in Republican districts and are counted in district apportionment. Marable noted that three or four Republican districts in New York state are prison districts, that is, the majority of population in the districts are prisoners, who can't vote.

There were many calls for concrete actions to help bring about change. The Black Radical Congress announced its national campaign to make police brutality a federal offense and gathered hundreds of signatures at the town hall meeting from an enthusiastic crowd. Support was also announced for a state-wide lobby in Albany on March 27 on the theme "Drop the Rock." The Black Radical Congress is organizing a bus for the lobby. Call 212-969-8801 for more information.

Contact:
Joe Sims
jsims@dqueen.com
jsims@cpusa.org

Black Radical Congress
National Office
Columbia University Station
P.O. Box 250791
New York, NY 10025-1509
Phone: (212) 969-0348
blackradicalcongress@email.com