Editorial: This year, Silicon Valley Reads focuses on ‘justice for all’
Published in the January 25-February 7, 2017 issue of Gilroy Life
Adam Benforado
Shaka Senghor
In October, more than 100 inmates staged a two-week hunger strike to protest conditions at Santa Clara County jails. These include what they say is the arbitrary use of solitary confinement and inadequate provisions such as clothing.
The hunger strike raises questions of social justice for people in prison, and it’s a question that should be addressed. The strike stemmed from a civil disobedience movement by inmates in several states that aimed to end the practice of solitary confinement. Our county’s strike was organized by the Prisoners’ Human Rights Movement following the public scrutiny of alleged abuses in our jail system. These abuses were spotlighted by the press and elected leaders with the 2015 beating death by correctional deputies of Michael Tyree, a mentally ill inmate in the Santa Clara County Main Jail. Tyree’s death led to murder charges against three correctional officers. It also spurred a host of reform efforts to put an end to the abuse of prisoners by guards.
From this background of inhuman treatment at our county’s jails, the Silicon Valley Reads community engagement program chose to put its 2017 focus on bias and social justice through the theme “… and justice for all.” This is the 15th year of this excellent program to stimulate conversation among residents on issues that impact everyone’s quality of life. We encourage South Valley residents to engage their hearts and minds by taking part in the annual literary dialogue that asks everyone in Silicon Valley to read, think, discuss and share diverse perspectives.
The centerpiece of this year’s literary conversation will be two books: “Unfair: The New Science of Criminal Injustice” by Adam Benforado and “Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison” by Shaka Senghor.
Silicon Valley Reads 2017 kicks off at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 23 at the Visual and Performing Arts Center at De Anza College in Cupertino. Admission is free with open seating on a first come basis.
A New York Times bestseller, “Unfair” uses real-life vignettes and research studies to show how innate bias about race, gender, appearance, education and economic status can influence fair treatment at every step of the legal system.
“Writing My Wrongs” is a memoir of Senghor’s 19-year incarceration for homicide, seven years of which were spent in solitary confinement. He used this time to discover literature, meditation, self-examination and the kindness of others — tools he used to confront the demons of his past, forgive people who had hurt him and begin atoning for the wrongs he had committed.
The Gilroy Library will hold several events connected to Silicon Valley Reads. At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, and 10:15 a.m. Friday, March 3, it will host a book discussion on “Writing My Wrongs,” an informal gathering for readers to share thoughts about the book. At 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, the library will show a free film screening of “American Denial,” a documentary in which 1944 Nobel Laureate Gunnar Myrdal asks: “How could America’s belief in liberty and equality also enable Jim Crow segregation?” The film uses Myrdal’s inquiry to probe the power of unconscious biases today in what some have called post-racial America.
At 7 p.m., March 6, the library will hold a special Silicon Valley Reads storytime for families of the children’s selection, “Bear and Bee” by Sergio Ruzzier in both English and Spanish. At 11:30 a.m., March 11, the library will have a special film screening of “Scenes of a Crime,” one of the most honored justice documentaries that explores what factors might lead an innocent man to confess to something he didn’t do.
The Gilroy Library will host Senghor 6:30 p.m., March 22 as he discusses the issues of “Writing my Wrongs.”
The Morgan Hill Library will host Benforado to discuss “Unfair” the afternoon of Feb. 25 (no exact time has been set). It will also host Arlene Biala, the Santa Clara County Poet Laureate, 7 p.m. Feb. 27 to discuss the issues of social justice.
We encourage Gilroy Life readers to participate in the 2017 Silicon Valley Reads dialogue with these two books selected. How we treat people in prisons is an honest indicator of the quality of our community’s character.
“To make progress in our fight against abuse, unequal treatment and wrongful convictions, we must come together as a community to consider the psychological biases that shape the behavior of judges, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, police officers — and all of the rest of us,” Benforado said in a press release. “Silicon Valley is the perfect place to have this conversation.”
