Join Darryl Hunt, Amnesty International, The NAACP, The GFADP, Larry Cox and Ben Jealous; Rev. Raphael Warnock (Ebenezer Baptist Church); Martina Correia (sister of Troy Davis); death row exonerees; and other guests for an evening of prayer, music and witness on Friday, September 16th 2011, in Atlanta, GA for the International Day of Solidarity for Troy Davis.
Darryl has chartered buses, with the assistance of Amnesty International, leaving out of Winston Salem for any individuals or supporters in the area interested in participating in the march in Atlanta and the abolition of the death penalty in Georgia. The buses are leaving from Emmanuel Baptist Church at 10:00 am. Anyone needing a seat on the bus is encouraged to arrive between 9am and 9:30am. Please be sure to eat breakfast before arriving as there is a long drive ahead. If you are interested on securing a seat on the bus, please contact Ken Taylor at 404-725-7808 as space is limited.
For more on the Troy Davis case, please see: freetroy.org , justicefortroy.org , gfadp.org .
Winston-Salem, NC – The Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice has received a $44,000 grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. The grant will be used to support the Project’s ongoing efforts to assist ex-offenders in their successful transition back to life in the community after they have been released.
“We are very grateful to the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust not only for their financial support, but for their acknowledgment that the audience we serve is an important one,” said Pam Peoples-Joyner, executive director of the Project. “A successful transition for our constituents helps prevent them from returning to a life of crime and adds to the rolls of productive, tax-paying citizens in Forsyth County.”
The Project also recently changed the formal name of its re-entry program to the Homecomers Program. Darryl Hunt, who serves on a subcommittee researching the needs of ex-offenders for the National Legal Aid Defenders Association, said the Project followed the recommendation of that group in making the name change. The name homecomers is a positive alternative to “ex-offender,” the description most often given to people who have been formerly incarcerated. “People who are rejoining their communities after serving their sentences deserve a second chance to change and become productive citizens,” Hunt said. “That change begins with the label we give them. Words are not neutral, and the term ‘ex-offender’ continues to follow them in a negative way even while they are trying to turn their lives around.” The Homecomers Program offers an array of services, including job skills training; counseling for psychological, family and substance abuse issues; job placement; and assistance with housing, food, clothing and other needs until they can obtain jobs and afford these things on their own. A 2008 study by
Wake Forest University found that only 3 percent of the “homecomers” the Project has assisted have been re-incarcerated, compared to an average of 42 percent for all North Carolina homecomers, according to a 2002 study by the N.C. Department of Corrections.
The Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust was created in 1947 by the will of Mrs. William N. Reynolds of Winston-Salem. Three-fourths of the Trust’s grants are designated for use for health-related programs and services across North Carolina; one-fourth is designated for the poor and needy of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.
Read the full story here:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/wral_investigates/story/2798466/
A Long Time Coming: My Life and the Darryl Hunt Lesson as told by Jo Anne North Goetz and written by Leigh Somerville McMillan, tells a powerful story. Goetz, a white woman who taught Hunt in the sixth grade, believed in him, advocated for him, and kept contact with him in prison. Available through bookstores and the web. Visit Joanne’s website at www.JoAnneGoetz.com