1

A Message from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference

�e United States represents 5% of the world’s population, yet holds 25% of the world’s incarcerated. For the past several years, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference has been engaged in implementing a national educational awareness campaign on the impact of mass incarceration on our families, communities and this nation (www.tobefreeatlast.net). We have done so, along with many others in an interfaith and ecumenical manner. Two seminal works on this issue are: �e New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander and Slavery by Another Name by Douglas Blackmon.

�e 2013 Martin L. King commemorative �lm screening events of �e House I Live In are due to the personal convictions and generosity of the producer, Eugene Jarecki. �e �lm won the 2012 Sundance Film Award and is now in the running for an Academy Award. To honor the legacy of Dr. King, Mr. Jarecki and the other producers are making it available without cost to all communities of faith and high schools. �e Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference is privileged to collaborate work with Mr. Jarecki and Charlotte Street Films to bring attention to these pressing issues.

For many, the presence and consequences of the failed War on Drugs and mass incarceration in America reveals the real soul of this nation and is the un�nished business of the civil rights movement. In many ways, the entangled web of policies and practices which led up to the Newtown, CT slaughter is linked to the failed War on Drugs and the way this nation glamorizes violence, marginalizes people of color, those with mental illness and the poor.

By these events, we hope to help change the pulse of the nation, its moral center and �ber, by informing our audiences of what is happening under our collective watch.

We thank you for your participation in these commemorative events of the legacy, man and mission of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. �is is a Kairos moment – a moment of national opportunity. Spread the word!

Dr. Iva E. Carruthers, General SecretarySamuel Dewitt Proctor ConferenceJanuary 12, 2013

“In Germany, the Nazis �rst came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then

they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and

I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn't speak up because

I was a protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.”

- Reverend Martin Niemoeller

f

�e senselessness and scope of the tragedy in Newtown, CT demand that we as Americans take a moral inventory of who we are as a nation and what we want to be going forward. I’ve spent the last several years making a documentary about the severity of America’s drug laws and their devastating impact on poor and minority communities and the national soul- searching that Newtown demands is not unrelated to a long overdue reexamination of the drug war and the brutality it has unleashed on families, children and communities across this country.

Unfortunately, both of these areas of concern are underscored by a common moral quandary: how did a nation founded in enlightenment principles of decency, human dignity and kindness become a staging ground for so much that is brutal, insensitive and demonstrative of man’s inhumanity to man.

�e title of my �lm, “�e House I Live In,” is borrowed from a 1940s ballad that famously asks “What is America to Me?” As I traveled to more than 25 states documenting the lives of those touched by the drug war– from the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics o�cer to the congressman, the inmate to the federal judge– I grappled with how the world’s beacon of freedom became its leading jailer, with 2.3 million people behind bars, more than 500,000 for nonviolent drug o�enses.

Taken together, the testimony of those I met �lled me with both pain and hope. Pain because the war on drugs has proven to be an unmitigated disaster, failing in every way to address the scourge

of drug abuse while in�icting immeasurable damage both on those targeted by drug laws and on the hopes and beliefs of those who enforce them.

But there was hope, too, because in so many people I met, I found great majesty– the capacity to forgive, to search within oneself, to seek a higher purpose and to look for a better way. I can report that the approach America has taken to our drug problem is increasingly seen as morally questionable and more destructive to society than the drugs ever were.

�ere is a growing movement of people of good will, including many youth, all over this nation who are inspiring America to reconsider the moral priorities of the drug war and, more broadly, to lead the way down a path towards a more compassionate and decent society.

I, along with Dr. Iva Carruthers and the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, are delighted to honor the legacy and life of the Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, by sponsoring screenings of �e House I Live In all over the nation. It gives me great personal pride and hope that we will launch these screenings for the faith community and high schools across the nation at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on January 12th and culminating at Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., on January 19th during the week- end celebration of the inauguration of President Barack H. Obama.

Eugene Jarecki, producer “�e House I Live In,” “Freakonomics” and “Why We Fight.” January 12, 2013

- �e Social Justice Network -

With Vision ... By Faith ... �rough Action

Visit: www.sdpconference.info / www.tobefreeatlast.net / email: admin@sdpconference.info

A Message from the Film’s Producer, Eugene Jarecki

• Short prefatory statements for the four focus areas• Actual verbatim from the film’s script as examples to which you can refer• References for additional sources• Several fact sheets / FAQs from several partners as an addenum

We hope you have someone designated to take notes on the types of questions and issues that the participants raised. We welcome all the feedback you care to share about your event, any next steps and how we might support your e�orts. Please encourage your participants to go to our websites and register so we might continue to share information with them. �ey are provided on the participant handout and your guide.

We know, many events will have invited program guests as a post-screening panel. We trust our collective e�orts will greatly contribute to this nation’s 2013 Martin Luther King Commemorative programs.

We thank you for joining so many others in this call to “Search for the Soul of a Nation.”

Eugene Jarecki, �e House I Live InDr. Iva Carruthers, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference

�e House I Live In shows how the prisons have become crisis sites of relocation, as opposed to rehabilitation, for too many people who su�er the e�ects of poverty and reduced opportunities or who are victims of addiction and mental illness.

�e House I Live In makes a powerful statement about the process of dehumanization and the �ve stages of destruction that Nazi Germany went through leading to the holocaust. �ey are: Identi�cation, Ostracism, Con�scation, Concentration and Annihilation.

�ose who were silent during that time period were indirectly complicit by virtue of their silence. As the �lm documents, many of those most directly responsible for implementing various aspects of the U.S. criminal justice system today are beginning to understand and speak out about the dire consequences for American democracy of the inherent injustices in the criminal justice system.

• What information about the War on Drugs in this film was most revealing to you?

• What does this film tell you about how the criminal justice system operates, particularly with trends towards privatization?

• What does this film tell you about the people who use drugs and why they use them?

• What does this film tell you about the negative impact of the War on Drugs on our communities?

II. What Are You Thinking About The System? (Sociological)

2

We know that any documentary �lm that has earned the Sundance Film of the Year Award and is nominated for an Academy Award must have portrayed a powerful message to which the audience has an emotional and mental connection. We will begin by �rst discussing our most basic reactions as humans: how do you feel? Let’s start with a simple metaphor elicitation exercise by sharing our emotional responses to the �lm. Several questions to be discussed follow this initial exercise.

• Write down 1 – 3 words only on how you FEEL.

• Identify an object (or draw an image) that expresses your EMOTION. Briefly share why you chose that word(s) and object.

• Who or what could you most identify or empathize with in the film?

• Who or what were you most unable to connect to?

I. How Are You Feeling? (Psycho-Emotional) (It is suggested that participants form small group clusters and begin the following excercise using a post-it note.)

“In Germany, the Nazis �rst came for the communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, but I didn't speak up because I was a protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.” - Rev. Martin Niemoeller

Verbatim from The House I Live In:

Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.: “A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and

present policies… True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.”

“It is said that no one truly knows a

nation until one has been inside its jails.

A nation should not be judged by how it

treats its highest citizens, but its lowest

ones.” - President Nelson Mandela

“There can be no keener revelation of a

society's soul than the way in which it

treats its children.”

- President Nelson Mandela

“Do you know what it’s like going home at

night knowing that you did a personal

injustice? I did an injustice to Maurice.”

- Judge Mark Bennett

“You’ve gotta have an enemy for every

thing. The way the Germans in the 30’s

rebuilt their infra-structure… industries…

and rebuilt their pride, their nationalism—

was by saying that these people… are the

cause of all our woe and if we hate them,

we’ll be better o�… everybody’s got to

have an enemy.”

- Mike Carpenter, Prison Guard

Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.: “Our lives begin to end the day we become

silent about the things that matter.”“Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness

in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.”

Introduction to Faith Facilitators

We are very pleased that the response to our Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Commemorative Screenings of �e House I Live In has been phenomenal. �ose hosting and participating in the screenings, followed by a forum, represent a diverse group of adults and youth from across the nation. We have participants in at least thirty states, including Alaska. Our discussion framework, participant handout and facilitator guide have been designed in appreciation for the diversity or our audiences and the need to provide �exibility for the hosts and facilitators to adjust our recommended format as they deem appropriate. We know that the program timing, as well as the participant responses to the �lm will be varied. It is our hope that this is just the beginning of local community-based conversations and citizen engagement on the issue of the failed War on Drugs and the criminal justice system, with all its various tentacles.

�e facilitators’ guide is an extended version of the participant handout and includes additional information for encouraging dialogue, extended study and action groups.

�e facilitators’ guide includes:• Introductions from us to help you introduce the event• Identification of the lens through which the four focus areas for post-screening conversation were developed

3Thank you for participating in today's event. We would love for you to stay in touch with us. We invite you to tell your own story about how mass incarceration has impacted your life, your family or community. Go to our website, register and stay informed and in touch by posting your comments. www.tobefreeatlast.net / www.sdpconference.info

�e following faith principles or ideas around which there are many sacred narratives are suggested by the �lm. Forgiveness Healing Justice Love Mercy Murder

Punishment Redemption Reconciliation Sin Violence

�ese ideas shape how we live out our faith. �ese issues shape how we see ourselves, those around us and our future.

• How does your personal understanding of these ideas and sacred stories help you address the issues related to the War on Drugs or mass incarceration in the United States?

• How are those understandings demonstrated or manifested in your personal life as related to those directly or indirectly impacted by the criminal justice system?

• How does your faith community’s understanding of these ideas and sacred stories help you address the issues related to the War on Drugs or mass incarceration in the United States?

• How are those understandings demonstrated or manifested in the life of your congregation as related to those directly or indirectly impacted by the criminal justice system?

• What are the implications of the War on Drugs and rates of incarceration in the U.S. for faith communities in the U.S., the African American Church, The Church Universal, the Ecumencial community?

• What are some linkages, similarities, dissimilarities, between prison justice here and in other parts of the world? How does all of this impact our perceived and real sense of security and safety, anger and fear?

• How can we do more to create systems of justice that work for all?

III. What basic beliefs and understandings help us move forward? (Faith)

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:“Envy, jealousy, a lack of self-confidence, a feeling of insecurity, and a haunting sense of inferiority are all rooted in

fear. We do not envy people and then fear them; first we fear them and subsequently we become jealous of them. Is there a cure for these annoying fears that pervert our personal lives?

Yes, a deep and abiding commitment to the way of love.”

“America’s drug problem is a result of hundreds

of years of history, economic policy, social

policy, and misunderstanding. So let’s not

make the most visual manifestation of it, that is

to say people being out there in the street and

using, the problem. It’s not the problem, it’s

simply a manifestation of the problem. It’s

simply a symptom.”

“As a physician I am concerned with the

casualties of the war on drugs which is the

frontline users and the petty dealers, but rather

than seeing the drug problem in isolation, you

have to see it in a social context. These are not

problems— none of them— that are just

intrinsic to individuals. They all represent

multigenerational family history, culture, social

conditions, and human failure.”

- Dr. Gabor Mate

“People want to lock people up and keep them

locked away, and then when their sentence is

over they expect this person to be reformed or a

di�erent person, but if you haven’t given them

any skills or training, how can they be?”

- Eric Franklin

Verbatim from The House I Live In:

“I’m using drugs and now I got these two little boys, these pretty boys. And I don’t know how to really be their dad. I know I supposed to. I know I ain’t had one and I know I supposed to. (SIGHS) I didn’t know what, how to stop doing what I was doing.” - Dennis Whidbee (Anthony Johnson’s Father)

(Accountability)

“Let’s return to the focus of the prevention of crime, how do we prevent people from becoming drug addicts … how do we prevent people from being incarcerated.” - William Bratton

(Punishment / Forgiveness / Healing)

“At the precinct they told me that my charge was a conspiracy charge. Conspiracy of �fty grams or more. I messed up... So all I’m thinking about is I messed up.” - Anthony Johnson

Verbatim from The House I Live In:

Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, Inc.- �e Social Justice Network - www.sdpconference.info

MLK Commemorative Screening and Discussion on “�e Soul of a Nation”

sponsored byCHARLOTTE STREET FILMS

and

FAITH FACILITATORSDISCUSSION GUIDE

A U.S. Documentary by

Eugene Jarecki

W I N N E RGRAND JURY PRIZE DOCUMENTARY

S U N D A N C EFILM FESTIVAL 2012

The HouseI Live In

References, Links & Bibliography

4Thank you for participating in today's event. We would love for you to stay in touch with us. We invite you to tell your own story about how mass incarceration has impacted your life, your family or community. Go to our website, register and stay informed and in touch by posting your comments. www.tobefreeatlast.net / www.sdpconference.info

IV. How do we begin the Quest for Justice / The Soul of a Nation? (Next Steps)

Eugene Jarecki said he did this �lm to inspire a national reconsideration of the morality of America’s drug war. “I grappled with how America, the world’s beacon of freedom, became its leading jailer, with 2.3 million people behind bars, more than 500,000 for non violent drug o�enses… many of those behind bars young men and women of color. I hope this �lm contributes to Dr. King’s vision of a more compassionate and decent path forward as a society. I hope this �lm helps young people �nd a reason to understand and participate in addressing the war on drugs and making the criminal justice system just for all. For me, this means helping us all search for the soul of a nation.”

�e sponsors and supporters of these 2013 MLK commemorative screenings and forums on the �lm, being held all around the nation, hope that people see this �lm as something that gives them information and hope to be agents of positive change in “search for the soul of a nation.”

• What does that challenge suggest to you?

• What would Martin Luther King and Martin Niemoller say about the 40 year history of a failed war on drugs?

• How can today’s moral leaders and people of goodwill help make more people aware of and responsive to the challenge to “Search for the Soul of a Nation?”

• Where do we go from here?

• What can we do?

• How do we begin the journey?

Rev. Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an

inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

“You need to care about that person down the block because the same rights that they have, you have. And if you let their rights be compromised, your rights are compromised. At some point you have to stand up and say, it’s not ok.“ - Michael Bien

“Today, you have to understand that the drug war is actually a war on ALL Americans, I think people keep saying ‘Well, that’s about them’ , well no, it’s about you.” - Charles Ogletree

Verbatim from The House I Live In: