Assemblymember Lori Wilson Joins 500+ Formerly Incarcerated People at Annual Quest for Democracy, April 29, 2024
Sacramento, CA — Assemblymember Lori Wilson will stand in solidarity with over five hundred formerly incarcerated individuals, family members, allies, and organizations at the 11th Annual Quest for Democracy (Q4D) on April 29, 2024. This gathering marks a collective effort to advocate for legislative measures that restore rights and dismantle barriers to employment, housing, and education for those impacted by the criminal justice system.
Event Details:
- Date: April 29, 2024
- Time: Event begins at 10:00 am, Assemblymember Wilson will speak at 10:30 am
- Location: California State Capitol, 1315 10th Street, Area 27, Sacramento, CA
- Livestream event here: www.facebook.com/LSPCMovement
Assemblymember Wilson will notably address ACA 8, the End Slavery in CA Act, which aims to remove the exception clause present in Article 1, Section 6 of the California Constitution permitting involuntary servitude as “punishment for a crime” within California's prisons. Joining the program schedule are esteemed Assemblymember Mia Bonta (AD20 - Alameda), Assemblymember Liz Ortega (AD20 - Alameda), and Assemblymember Bryan (AD 55 - Los Angeles). Supported legislation includes bills such as AB 958, which supports family unification and reforms invasive strip searches for visitors; AB 2959, which addresses food vending for visiting in CDCR; and AB 1810, which provides access to menstrual and feminine hygiene products for incarcerated persons.
The event will take place in person in Sacramento at the California State Capitol. Participants will partake in a morning rally featuring speakers from partner organizations and legislators, alongside music, poetry, and dance performances. Advocates will champion legislative measures to keep families connected, increase wages for incarcerated workers, and eliminate barriers to housing and employment.
Quest for Democracy serves as a vital platform for individuals directly affected by the criminal justice system to engage with State Legislators and advocate for substantive change. At this year's event, one of the chief priorities for advocacy is demanding the elimination of slave language, such as involuntary servitude, from California's Constitution and gaining the right to consent to any and all labor for incarcerated people. No one, regardless of the circumstance, should be subject to forced labor and lose the right to autonomy and agency over their own body.
Scheduled to commence at 10 am on April 29th, Q4D will bring together formerly incarcerated individuals, family members, allies, and two dozen organizations across California. The event will encompass advocacy training sessions, a rally, entertainment, and grassroots organizing teams engaging policymakers and staff from various legislative offices.
Organized by Legal Services for Prisoners with Children in collaboration with its grassroots organizing arm All of Us or None, and supported by dozens of criminal justice organizations throughout the state, Q4D is dedicated to advancing the civil and human rights of those impacted by incarceration. Led primarily by formerly incarcerated persons and individuals directly affected by the criminal justice system, the initiative strives to develop humane alternatives to incarceration and punishment. Q4D is also the largest advocacy day for formerly incarcerated people and system-impacted individuals and communities in the entire state and one of the largest in the nation.
Over the years, Quest for Democracy has been instrumental in driving legislative change. Notable successes include the passage of AB 1008 (McCarty) in 2017, which expanded "Ban the Box" policies to private employers; SB 1393 (Mitchell) in 2018, granting judicial discretion in applying mandatory sentence enhancements for prior serious felonies; and successfully pushing ACA 6 (McCarty): The “Free the Vote” campaign which led to Proposition 17 which restored the right to vote to nearly 50,000 fellow Californians on parole and who completed their prison terms. LSPC was also a part of recent campaigns to gain free phone calls for incarcerated individuals through SB 1008 (Becker) and lowered the bloated canteen markup for goods purchased by our incarcerated loved ones through SB 474 (Becker).
Dorsey Nunn, Executive Director of LSPC, underscored, "We are tax-paying Californians before, during, and after any state-imposed sentence, and we demand full access to the machinery of democracy to stay connected to our communities and maintain our humanity." |