The Gathering

When I walked into the Culture Project theater tonight to see Harry Belafonte's The Gathering, I had no idea what was coming. Project Director Malia Lazu (who ran for President in 2004 as part of RJ Cutler's amazing documentary series The American Candidate) began talking about the need for prison reform. Then they screened a short film about their work. It followed Harry Belafonte and Malia and their colleagues around the country as they tried to teach their communities about the prison industrial complex. The numbers are staggering - in South Carolina for instance, black people make up 35% of the population, but over 80% of the prison population. We are incarcerating children, mostly minority children, at a growing and astonishing rate all across the nation. Mr. Belafonte began this group when he saw a news clip of a 5 year old black girl in Florida being arrested for "being unruly" - and he knew something had to be done. The event tonight was eye-opening and heartbreaking, and I'm incredibly proud that Olivia brought this important message and messengers to our theater. I urge you all to learn more about The Gathering, as well as PMP (Prison Moratorium Project). It will be a long long time, if ever, before I forget the image of that terrified little girl screaming and pleading in handcuffs.