June 21, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
media@aclu.orgPerformers Include Rosario Dawson, Rosie O'Donnell, Phylicia
Rashad
NEW
YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union and the New York Civil Liberties Union
today joined V-Day in hosting Any One of Us: Words from Prison, an evening of
performance telling the stories of incarcerated women and the role of violence
in their lives.
"In New York State the Rockefeller Drug Laws
subject thousands of women every year to the violence of the prison system -
simply because they've committed low-level drug offenses," said Donna Lieberman,
Executive Director of the NYCLU. "Words from Prison will bring forth the voices
of the women who are suffering under this ongoing travesty of
justice."
The event is part of the ongoing festival Until the
Violence Stops: NYC, presented by V-Day, the global movement founded by
playwright Eve Ensler, which aims to raise funds and awareness to combat
violence against women and girls.
Any One of Us: Words from Prison
is directed by Rhodessa Jones and will feature readings by Rosario Dawson, Rosie
O'Donnell, Phylicia Rashad, Kimberle Crenshaw, Michael Eric Dyson, and formerly
incarcerated women Kemba Smith, Betty Gale Tyson and Angela Wilson. Through
readings and song, the performers will highlight the connections between
violence against women and incarceration.
"Women in prison
experience violence before, during and after incarceration," said Lenora
Lapidus, Director of the ACLU Women's Rights Project. "They are subjected to
domestic violence, abuse by prison guards, separation from their families and
denial of government benefits, including welfare, public housing and educational
loans."
The event will take place at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln
Center Plaza, New York City this evening at 8 p.m. and will benefit the ACLU and
the NYCLU.
More information is available online at
www.aclu.org/wordsfromprison
