ColorofChange.org, a web-based group dedicated to strengthening Black America’s political voice, launched a grassroots, e-mail campaign promoting American Violet.
“Too often, police drug raids in low-income communities across the county sweep up innocent people. Once in the system, it can become nearly impossible for these folks to prove their innocence. They lose their freedom; their families are broken; and the true story is rarely told.
“American Violet is a new award-winning film opening in your area that can help shine a light on the problem. By going to see the movie, you can help it get more exposure–it will run longer in theaters if it does well at first.
“American Violet tells the amazing story of a young, single mother swept up in an unjust, out-of-control drug raid that targets the Black community in a small town in Texas. The film is based on true events and it examines how our country’s drug laws and enforcement practices target African-Americans, and how the justice system uses threats and intimidation to steer people towards guilty pleas, regardless of their innocence or the evidence against them.”
At the same time ColorofChange launched a campaign to thank Virginia Senator Jim Webb for proposing a new law that “will examine our criminal justice system from top to bottom and propose sweeping, systemic reforms.”
The group points out that “politicians rarely speak honestly about the realities of our broken criminal justice system, for fear of appearing ‘soft on crime.’”
The group is asking its members and supporters to “thank Jim Webb for his bold leadership and let him know that you’ll stand with him in the fight for a fair, effective criminal justice system.”
For more information go to: colorofchange.org.
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