Spring 2016

SFCTV Talks With Jennifer Baumgardner

SFCTV's Van Brewer introduces us to Jennifer Baumgardner, Executive Director and Publisher of CUNY's Feminist Press. Baumgardner came to St. Francis College to show her film, It Was Rape, and talk with students about the issue. Baumgardner's visit was part of the Spring 2016 Senior Citizen Lecture Series: New Protest Movements, organized by Professors Emily Horowitz and Sarah Haviland. On November 8, 2016 at St. Francis College, the Feminists Press will present a new play, Now We Are Men, which looks at sex and sexuality from a male, teenage perspective. sfc.edu

Jamal Joseph: Black Panther Baby

St. Francis College welcomed Writer & Columbia Film Professor Jamal Joseph on April 26, 2016 for the Spring 2016 Senior Citizen Lecture Series: New Protest Movements. Joseph spoke about his journey in the Black Power movement. He's the author of Panther Baby (Algonquin Books) and Tupac, Legacy (Simon & Schuster); has written/directed for Black Starz, HBO, Fox TV, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros., and A&E; & produced screenplays include Ali: An American Hero, New York Undercover, Knights of the South Bronx, and The Many Trials of Tammy B., Drive By: A Love Story, Da Zone, and Hughes Dreams Harlem. Joseph directs IMPACT, a Harlem-based youth theatre company, and New Heritage Films, an organization that provides training and opportunities for minority filmmakers. The lecture series is produced by St. Francis College Professors Sara Haviland & Emily Horowitz. The talks are co-sponsored by American Studies, History, the Center for Crime & Popular Culture, the Institute for Peace & Justice, Provost's Office, Sociology & Criminal Justice, and the Women's Center.

Black Lives Matter - A Historical Context

Yohuru Williams, Dean & Professor at Fairfield University came to St. Francis College on April 19, 2016 to talk about the Black Lives Matter in the context of historical racial justice struggles. His writings include Black Politics/White Power: Civil Rights Black Power and Black Panthers in New Haven (Blackwell, 2006), Teaching U.S. History Beyond the Textbook (Corwin, 2008), In Search of the Black Panther Party: New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement (Duke University, 2006), and Liberated Territory: Toward a Local History of the Black Panther Party (Duke University, 2009). sfc.edu

Fall 2015

Black Lives Matter & the Black Power/Civil Rights Movement

St. Francis College welcomed Dr. Yohuru Williams (Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of History at Fairfield University) on November 24, 2015 as part of the Fall 2015 Senior Citizen Lecture Series: Urban Policing and Racial Conflict: Current Crises and Historical Context for the talk - In Defense of Self Defense: The Black Panther Party in History and Memory. Dr. Yohuru Williams is the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Professor of History at Fairfield University. He is the author of Black Politics/White Power: Civil Rights Black Power and Black Panthers in New Haven (Blackwell, 2006) and Teaching U.S. History Beyond the Textbook (Corwin, 2008). He is the editor of A Constant Struggle: African-American History from 1865 to the Present, Documents and Essays(Kendall Hunt, 2002), and the co-editor of In Search of the Black Panther Party: New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement (Duke University, 2006), and Liberated Territory: Toward a Local History of the Black Panther Party (Duke University, 2009). He also served as general editor for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History's 2002 and 2003 Black History Month publications, The Color Line Revisited (Tapestry Press, 2002) and The Souls of Black Folks: Centennial Reflections (Africa World Press, 2003). Dr. Williams also served as an adviser on the popular civil rights reader Putting the Movement Back into Teaching Civil Rights. Dr. Williams' scholarly articles have appeared in The Black Scholar, The Journal of Black Studies, The Organization of American Historians Magazine of History, Delaware History, Pennsylvania History, and the Black History Bulletin. The event was sponsored by the Senior Citizen Lecture Series, the Center for Crime & Popular Culture, the Institute for Peace & Justice and co-coordinated by Professors Nickie Phillips & Emily Horowitz.

Activism & Police Tactics in St. Louis

Portia Allen-Kyle (Attorney and Ph.D. Student in Sociology at Rutgers University) came to St. Francis College December 8, 2015 to talk about "Controlling the Movement: Understanding the Dynamic between Activism and Policing Tactics in Greater St. Louis." The talk was part of the Fall 2015 Senior Citizen Lecture Series: Urban Policing and Racial Conflict: Current Crises and Historical Context which is sponsored by the Senior Citizen Lecture Series, the Center for Crime & Popular Culture, the Institute for Peace & Justice and co-Coordinated by professors Nickie Phillips & Emily Horowitz. Portia Allen-Kyle, J.D., is currently working on her dissertation in sociology at Rutgers University. She spent the past summer doing fieldwork in Ferguson, Missouri, studying the impact of executive emergency curfews on the community. Her dissertation focuses on the relationship between executive emergency curfew laws and social inequality.

Crime Numbers & The NYPD with Eli Silverman

On November 3, 2015, Eli Silverman, professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice spoke about Crime Numbers & the NYPD. The talk was part of the Fall 2015 Senior Citizen Lecture Series: Urban Policing and Racial Conflict: Current Crises and Historical Context. Dr. Silverman is author of numerous scholarly articles on policing management, crime rates, and policing performance. He is co-author, with John Eterno, of The Crime Numbers Game: Management by Manipulation and author of NYPD Battles Crime: Innovative Strategies in Policing. Dr. Silverman has served with the US Department of Justice and the National Academy of Public Administration in Washington, DC. The series is sponsored by the Senior Citizen Lecture Series, the Center for Crime & Popular Culture, the Institute for Peace & Justice and coordinated by St. Francis College Professors Nickie Phillips & Emily Horowitz.

Spring 2015

Black High School Student Activism during the Black Power Era

Dara Walker (Rutgers University - History) came to St. Francis College on March 10, 2015 to discuss her scholarly research, Dare to Fight, Dare to Win: Black High School Student Activism during the Black Power Era. She received her B.A. in African American Studies from Eastern Michigan University in 2009 and a M.A. in Pan-African Studies from Syracuse University in 2011. Her master’s thesis, "Navigating Untold Stories: An Oral History Approach to Understanding the Life Experiences of Black Detroit High School Student Activists of the Black Power Movement," drew on oral histories with eight student activists. She is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History at Rutgers University. She is currently working on her dissertation, They Dared to Fight, a local study of high school student activism in Detroit, which examines how student activism shaped and was shaped by city politics, the black labor movement and the struggle for black community control of schools. The lecture was organized by St. Francis College professors Sara Haviland and Emily Horowitzas part of their series, A Presentation of Interpreting the 1960s - A Senior Citizen Lecture Series Event.

From the Closet to Gay Liberation

Christopher Adam Mitchell came to St. Francis College on April 7, 2015 to share his work on the history of Gay Liberation in New York City and beyond. Mitchell is a queer historian based in Brooklyn, NY. He teaches history and women’s/gender studies at Rutgers University-Newark, Pace University in Manhattan, and Hunter College of the City University of New York. In addition to his interests in the historical intersections of sexuality, culture, and economics in the contemporary era, Mitchell is active in developing and promoting LGBTQIA humanities and anti-bullying curriculum in primary, intermediate, and secondary education as a member of the board and education committee chair for the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the CUNY-Graduate Center. He completed his Ph.D. in history at Rutgers University with a dissertation entitled, “The Transformation of Gay Life in New York City from the Closet to Liberation, 1948-1977: A Study in Late Capitalism,” in 2014.

Sam Green on his film, The Weather Underground

Sam Green talked about his documentary, The Weather Underground at St Francis College on March 24, 2015. Green is a documentary filmmaker based in San Francisco and New York. He’s made many movies including most recently The Measure of All Things and The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller, a live cinematic collaboration with the indie rock band Yo La Tengo. His documentary The Weather Underground was nominated for an Academy Award and included in the 2004 Whitney Biennial.

Fall 2014

Jennifer Baumgardner Screens Documentary: It Was Rape

Institute for Peace & Justice Guest Lecture Jennifer Baumgardner, Executive Director/Publisher at The Feminist Press at CUNY, screened and answer questions about her documentary, It Was Rape. Co-sponsored by American Studies and the Center for Crime & Popular Culture. After 5 years as an editor at the feminist magazine, Ms. (1993-1997), Baumgardner began writing investigative pieces for Harper’s and The Nation, providing commentaries for NPR’s All Things Considered, contributing to dozens of national magazines, and then authoring 6 books, including Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future. Her new film, It Was Rape, asks why the wrong, illegal, and reprehensible of rape is still tragically common. In this film, 8 women tell their diverse personal stories of sexual assault, from a Midwestern teenager trying alcohol for the first time to a Native American woman gradually coming to terms with her abusive childhood. The film is an opportunity to empathize with people—not just absorb faceless statistics—and to puncture the silence and denial that allow sexual assault to thrive, and sheds light on how this epidemic affects us all. For more information, contact Emily Horowitz: [email protected] or 718-489-5446.

The People Who Make Hudson Link Successful

Sean Pica, Executive Director of Hudson Link, and a graduate of the program came to St. Francis College November 4, 2014 with two fellow graduates and staff the to talk about the importance of educating people behind bars and Hudson Link's success in keeping students from returning to crime.

American in the 1940's

St. Francis College English Professor Wendy Galgan talks about America in the 1940's on September 30, 2014.

Spring 2014

Marty Tankleff - Exonerated in Death of His Parents

Fall 2013 Senior Citizen Lecture Series organized by St. Francis College Professor Emily Horowitz. Wrongful Convictions, Miscarriages of Justice, and Other Critical Perspectives on the U.S. Criminal Justice System Marty Tankleff was 17 when he learned his parents had been brutally murdered. After police lied and said his father briefly emerged from his coma and fingered Marty as his killer, Marty falsely confessed to the murder with no lawyer present. He was exonerated after spending 17 years in prison -- and decades fighting to prove his innocence with the help of a small band of supporters. Joining Marty will be Lonnie Soury, a media consultant who specializes in wrongful conviction cases. Soury worked with Marty, as well as other high-profile wrongful conviction cases such as the West Memphis 3 (falsely accused of murdering of 3 young boys, and the subject of numerous documentaries), by using media and public relations to pressure criminal justice authorities to re-investigate these cases. sfc.edu/peace

A Very Brief Look at Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day

Jim Forest (Author, All Is Grace: A Biography of Dorothy Day; Editor-in-Chief, The Catholic Worker) on The Friendship and Correspondence Between Dorothy Day and Thomas Merton. April 1, 2014. sfc.edu

Alan Astro: Christianity and the Holocaust is Elie Wiesel's Night

Alan Astro, Professor of Languages & Literature at Trinity University, speaks about Elie Wiesel's Night, the archetypal Holocaust survivor account, was originally published in Yiddish. Critics have claimed that the translations into French and English mute Wiesel's anger at the non-Jewish world and casts the Holocaust in Christian, rather than Jewish, terms. This presentation will show how the charge is unfair. Rather, the original and the translations of Night blend Jewish and Christian world-views. May 2, 2014 Speaker bio: Dr. Alan Astro is a Professor of Modern Languages & Literatures at Trinity University. He is the author of: Yiddish South of the Border (University of New Mexico Press), Discourses of Jewish Identity in 20th Century France (Yale French Studies, No. 85), and Understanding Samuel Beckett (University of South Carolina Press). He received his Ph.D. from Yale University in 1985.

Fall 2013

Debbie Nathan on the San Antonio 4

The fallacious claims of a nine and a seven year old, pressured by their custodial parent and his mother, sent their aunt Elizabeth and three of her friends to prison. There was no real evidence against them other than "junk science." About 15 years later, the women were finally freed from prison. Debbie Nathan describes the case of the "San Antonio 4" and how activists worked to gain public and media support to free these women. The prosecutor of the case, in San Antonio in 1998, suggested that because the four women were lesbians that they were more likely to commit this sort of crime...and because they didn't have financial resources, they could not afford good legal counsel. St. Francis College Professor Emily Horowitz invited Debbie to come to the College before these women were freed so the event became something of a a celebration for justice. The talk was part of the Fall 2013 lecture series: Wrongful Convictions, Miscarriages of Justice, and Other Critical Perspectives on the U.S. Criminal Justice System. sfc.edu

Judith Levine on Misguided Sex Offender Laws

Author Judith Levine (Harmful to Minors: The Perils of Protecting Children From Sex, Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping) discusses how the recent explosion in sex offender legislation has created public hysteria about sex crimes and civil rights violations, yet has failed to decrease crime or increase public safety. She came to St. Francis College for the Fall 2013 lecture series, Wrongful Convictions, Miscarriages of Justice, and Other Critical Perspectives on the U.S. Criminal Justice System, organized by Professor Emily Horowitz. sfc.edu

Don Connery on False Confessions

Don Connery is a Harvard-educated author and independent journalist who worked for decades Time & Life magazines. After years of foreign correspondence he wrote a book about Connecticut's landmark Peter Reilly wrong-man case in 1973-77, and shifted his focus from international affairs to miscarriages of justice. He has since investigated and reported a series of false-confession cases Connery has worked for decades to free Richard Lapointe 66, a brain-damaged man who has been behind bars since Manchester police in 1989 spent nearly 10 hours wheedling from him a nonsensical, unrecorded confession to the 2-year-old rape and murder of his wife's grandmother, 88-year-old Bernice Martin. Lapointe, still imprisoned, has an upcoming court hearing. The lecture was part of a series on Wrongful Convictions hosted by St. Francis College Professor Emily Horowitz. sfc.edu

Spring 2013

Nixon and New Conservatism with Professor David Greenberg

As part of the St. Francis College Spring 2013 lecture series, Left, Right and Center: Perspectives on Society and Culture in 1960s, David Greenberg presents: Nixon and New Conservatism David Greenberg is associate professor of History and of Journalism & Media Studies at Rutgers University. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, Foreign Affairs, The Journal of American History, Reviews in American History, Daedalus, and Slate. He has also worked as Acting Editor and Managing Editor of The New Republic. He is author of the award-winning Nixon's Shadow: The History of an Image, a biography of Calvin Coolidge, and a book called Presidential Doodles. Dr. Greenberg was a recipient of the Hiett Prize in the Humanities. This lecture series, produced by Professors Emily Horowitz and Sara Haviland, is sponsored by the Senior Citizen Lecture Series and the Institute for Peace & Justice.

Dorothy Day: A Discussion on Non-VIolent Protest

Arnold Sparr, Msgr. LoPinto, and Tom Cornell present: Catholic Social Thought Since Vatican II: Dorothy Day, Nonviolent Protest and the Anti- War Movement This lecture is part of the St. Francis College series, Left, Right and Center: Perspectives on Society and Culture in 1960s, produced by Professors Emily Horowitz and Sara Haviland and sponsored by the Senior Citizen Lecture Series and the Institute for Peace & Justice.

Destruction of Innocence: Jesse Friedman and Ron Kuby Explain Jesse's Innocence

Last year Sociology Professor Emily Horowitz introduced students and the St. Francis community to Civil Rights Attorney Ron Kuby and his client Jesse Friedman, who appeared in the documentary, Capturing the Friedmans, which takes a look at alleged misconduct by Nassau County police in the conviction of Friedman for sexually abusing a string of young children. Kuby and Friedman have been fighting for almost a decade to get that conviction overturned. Professor Horowitz, who runs a class and special lecture series on wrongful convictions and miscarriages of justice, and directs the Institute for Peace and Justice at St. Francis College, has added some academic support to the battle. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is expected to soon release the results of an investigation into the conviction which may results in Friedman being exonerated. Jesse's supporters have a petition available on http://www.justiceforjesse.com.

Fall 2012

Why Are the Poor Invisible?Why are the Poor Invisible? A Call for Politicians and Policy-Makers to Address the Persistent and Growing Problem of U.S. Poverty. Msgr. Alfred LoPinto of Catholic Charities talks about how the U.S. poverty rate sits steady at 15 percent, meaning 46.2 million people live below the poverty line, including almost 21 million American children. Student loan debt has grown by a staggering 511% since 1999. Msgr. LoPinto explores why politicians and policy makers need to address this growing problem. The lecture was sponsored by the St. Francis College Institute for Peace and Justice headed by Professors Emily Horowitz and Arnold Sparr.

Leanne Shapton - Swimming Studies

Author and artist Leanne Shapton reads from her memoir, Swimming Studies, at St. Francis College on November 27.

Hour Children - Helping Incarcerated Parents Get Back on Track

Sister Patricia Hanvey and Kellie Phalen from the Non-Profit Hour Children talk about how they help incarcerated men and women and their families get back on track. The talk was part of the Fall 2012 St. Francis College series, Lectures By & About Radical & Progressive Women, produced by Sociology and Criminal Justice Professor Emily Horowitz.

Spring 2012

Bernard Baran, Wrongly Imprisoned for 22 Years

Bernard Baran spent 22 years behind bars for crimes he never committed. A lack of DNA evidence made it next to impossible to prove his innocence. He spoke at St. Francis College on April 17 for the Spring 2012 series, Miscarriages of Justice and Wrongful Convictions, put together by Sociology and Criminal Justice Professor Emily Horowitz. "bernard baran" "st francis" wrongful imprisonment conviction unjust "new york" saint nyc ny brooklyn heights college crime criminal Charter Award Dinner Honors Barbara Koster For the 51st Annual Charter Award Dinner, St. Francis College honors Barbara G. Koster '76, Senior Vice President And Chief Information Officer for Prudential Financial, Inc. The dinner raised more than a half-million dollars for scholarships at the college including an endowed scholarship name for Mrs. Koster. sfc.edu

Debbie Nathan - Sybil Exposed

Author, Journalist and Editor Debbie Nathan took part on the Spring 2012 series, Miscarriages of Justice and Wrongful Convictions on April 3, to talk about her new book, Sybil Exposed: The Extraordinary Story Behind the Famous Multiple Personality Case and how cases like these affect the judicial system. Sociology and Criminal Justice Professor Emily Horowitz organized the series. sfc.edu

The Jesse Friedman Case

Noted defense attorney Ron Kuby and Jesse Friedman (subject of the Academy-award winning documentary CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS) came to St. Francis College February 21, 2012. Friedman spent 13 years in prison for child sexual abuse, despite a total lack of physical or other evidence. The children in the case were manipulated by detectives using suggestive questioning and hypnosis, as well as other now-discredited techniques that can lead to false allegations of abuse. Kuby and Friedman will discuss the case and Jesse's decades-long effort to appeal his conviction.

Fernando Bermudez - Wrongly Incarcerated

Fernando Bermudez spent 18 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit. He came to St. Francis College, February 14, 2012 to talk about what led to his wrongful incarceration and what he's doing now to prevent it from happening to others.

The People of CHiPS (Soup Kitchen/Food Pantry in Park Slope, Brooklyn)

On October 10, 2013, our sociology class visited CHiPS with our professor, Dr. Emily Horowitz. CHiPS is soup kitchen in Park Slope, Brooklyn, that also provides clothing to the needy and homeless as well as shelter to a small group of women who are pregnant and/or have very young children. The purpose of the trip was twofold: first, we hoped to interact and meet with those who benefit from CHiPS services, and second, to figure out to help raise money and awareness about this vital community resource. Park Slope, Brooklyn, is known to be a place of affluence, yet there is still a substantial population in the surrounding communities who need help from resources like CHiPS. The stories below are based on our interviews with those who utilize and help run CHiPS. CHiPS is facing a financial crisis, and might soon have to close down. We hope these stories inspire you to donate money, time, or food/clothing to CHiPS. Here is a link for you to donate, and thank you for reading our stories.

CHiPS is located at 200 4^th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11217

Donate to CHiPS

http://chipsonline.org/donate/

-- The students in Sociology of Minority Groups with Dr. Emily Horowitz, St. Francis College (Brooklyn, NY), Fall 2013