Over 80 people showed up for our TULIA, TEXAS event on Saturday. The
lobby was full and our info table was crowded with audience members
clamouring for postcards, flyers, and popcorn. Hildy from KCTS
answered questions at the table handing out IL calendars and KCTS
bumper stickers and program guides. The film looked great on the
state-of-the-art screen at SIFF Cinema. After the film, over 70
people stayed to hear Harry Williams, ACLU of Washington staff
attorney, who worked in Texas with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project
and was a staff attorney at the Texas Fair Defense Project. Williams
was joined on the panel by Alison Holcomb, the ACLU of Washington's
Drug Policy Director. Ms. Holcomb develops and implements legal and
public education strategies aimed at replacing the "war on drugs" with
more effective alternatives that respect civil liberties. Also
speaking after the film was Jacque Larrainzar, Policy & Outreach
Manager at the Seattle Office for Civil Rights (SOCR) who shared
details about Seattle's on-going initiative to identify
institutionalized racism in city government and change the way
departments do business to erase old, ingrained prejudices that have
become part of public policy. The discussion ran over 30 minutes and
questions ranged from specific questions about Washington State's Drug
Task Forces (yes, we have 'em), and questions about other incidents
nationally like Tulia. Other questions asked about restoring the
rights of felons to vote and the decriminalization of marijuana. Many
audience members lingered after the discussion to speak directly with
the panelists in the lobby.