On November 11, SURJ is hosting a national broadcast screening of Ava Duvernay's masterful film on mass incarceration, "13th." From IndieWire about the film:

Ava DuVernay's documentary “13th” has the precision of a foolproof argument underscored by decades of frustration. The movie tracks the criminalization of African Americans from the end of the Civil War to the present day, assailing a broken prison system and other examples of institutionalized racial bias with a measured gaze. It combines the rage of Black Lives Matter and the cool intelligence of a focused dissertation.

We're inviting SURJ chapters and other interested groups across the country to host a screening and a follow-up panel discussion, live, on November 11th. The panel discussion will include:

• Charlene Sinclair, Director for Reinvestment, Center for Community Change
• Grace Bauer, Executive Director, Justice for Families
• Matt McGorry, Actor, "Orange Is The New Black" and "How To Get Away With Murder"

If you're interested in hosting, here's what we need you to do:

• Identify a space that can hold your projected number of attendees on November 11th from approximately 1:00pm ET-10:00am PT (this will allow time for set-up, introductions, film screening, panel discussion, local follow-up conversation, and clean-up) and that is accessible to as many people as possible (i.e. ADA-accessible, LGBTQ-friendly, welcoming to parents, etc.)
• Fill out this form to let us know that you're interested in hosting -- we will follow up with you to get more information about your event in order to post it publicly for others to find, and will supply you with outreach materials/strategies and a discussion guide

We're hoping that broadcasting this film will help to generate conversations in more communities across the country about both the issue of mass incarceration and how it plays out specifically in your community. We'll be joined by folks for a panel following the film who are organizing locally and nationally to end mass incarceration, including Malkia Cyril (who is featured in the film), and hope that you will also host a discussion with attendees at your event about how to end mass incarceration in your community.