Community is Joy Alise Davis’s obsession. She claimed to have discovered the ideal organization to employ her interest with as the president and executive director of Imagine Black.
In order to guarantee that Black people have the resources and rights necessary to prosper, Imagine Black, a nonprofit organization headed by and serving Black people in Portland, seeks to rethink community processes and structures.
We think that the systems we’re using were created or conceived by a select few, and that by uniting as a community, we can create better systems, Davis stated.
The organization is screening Beyond Walls: A Story of Solidarity and Justice at the Hollywood Theater on Sunday, followed by a conversation, as part of its Reimagining Public Safety Project.
Working Films, a nationwide documentary production firm specializing on social and environmental justice, produced the movie. The movie examines what it would be like to eliminate the prison industrial complex, which includes the public and commercial sectors that use police, monitoring, and incarceration as solutions to social, political, and economic problems, from the viewpoint of those who are incarcerated.
Finding a way to incorporate this incredible documentary into the project and use it as a fantastic platform for having some difficult discussions about the prison industrial complex was something we felt was crucial, Davis added.
The screening is in line with Imagine Black’s Reimagining Public Safety Project, which was started in 2020 to promote alternative public safety structures based on compassion rather than retribution. The project’s main goals are to address Oregonians’ needs through public education and visioning.
According to Davis, “we adore the idea of people coming together and envisioning new ways and new systems.” We are aware that it is critical that we evaluate our systems, but I believe it is even more crucial that we work together to identify solutions that advance our cause.
One of Imagine Black’s first public-facing activities as part of the project is the screening and debate. Dr. Lisa Bates, a Black studies professor at Portland State University, and Kenny Hamilton, a supporter of the previous president of Uhuru Sasa, the Black cultural group housed inside the Oregon State Penitentiary, as well as a current inmate, will join Davis on the panel.
According to Davis, the occasion marks the start of a new stage in the community’s efforts to bring about change.
According to Davis, this screening will be a fantastic chance for us to hear some tales and consider how we, as people and as a community, can work together to create a better world, and especially a better Oregon.
Until the end of spring, Imagine Black’s project will remain in its visioning phase. In the fall, they intend to finalize everything by recording the vision and coming up with action items. The objective is to develop a community action roadmap that prioritizes care and aids communities that are at risk.
Investigating the broad effects of public safety, which affect practically every system in our society, is one of the project’s main goals, according to Davis.
When we consider rethinking public safety, the main thing that comes to mind, according to Davis, is how crucial it is to stand back and consider the underlying causes of crime.
Davis underlined that reorganization and community action can be used to solve food and housing crisis. Additionally, she emphasized community visioning as a means of investigating alternative innovative ideas.
“I want people to attend this screening and just be receptive to hearing from other viewpoints,” Davis stated. I want people to believe that they, along with the community, are capable of bringing about change.
Hollywood Theatre, 4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd., 7:30–9:30 p.m., Feb. 23; tickets $5–$20; hollywoodtheatre.org/show/beyond-walls-a-story-of-solidarity-and-justice
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Chiara Profenna discusses faith, religion, and cultural ties. You may contact her at [email protected] or @chiaraprofenna, or 503-221-4327.
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