"The Gathering for Justice” was founded by Harry Belafonte in 2005 in response to the crisis of incarceration facing youth today.
Belafonte was "galvanized" after seeing a TV report about a kindergartener in Florida who had been arrested. handcuffed, and schackled by three police officers for acting out in class. " I was upset by this sight, but what made me even more upset was that there was no outcry about this,” he said.
Collectively over six thousand youth leaders representing a large national constituency and two hundred elders with a personal history of engagement in social action organizations, have come together and declared their commitment to this mobilization.
Organizations participating in The Gatherings: |
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Gatherings to Date: |
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Articles about The Gatherings: |
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Belafonte says he returns to Memphis “with great trepidation and mixed feelings” and with great concern for “where we are as a nation.” But he said passing the baton — or “picking up the mantle,” as he put it — in Memphis, where King died, after 40 years, “is almost Biblical.” - The Gathering for Justice, begun in 2005 to address the problem of incarcerated youth, will hold meetings and workshops at LeMoyne-Owen College on April 5 and 6. |
Belafonte to bring Gathering to Memphis March, 2008 |
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 We spend the hour with Harry Belafonte and Danny Glover, talking about war, empire, indigenous resistance and global justice at an event called the Gathering for Justice last week in Oakland. |
November 2007 |
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| HB: "Her only crime was that she was unruly in class. She did nothing threatening, she stabbed no one, there was no violence. There was a time you brought in a counsellor or a social worker, but now you incarcerate them and take their fingerprints. It so shamed me that I called a meeting of the old civil rights leaders and many younger activists to discuss the plight of children and the justice system." | 'I chose to be a civil rights warrior' March 2007 |
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| The Gathering” was a three-day retreat in June (2006) organized by Elder Harry Belafonte and hosted by The Council of Chiefs, The Elders and Clan Mothers of the Onondaga Nation on sovereign land just south of Syracuse. The Onondaga people adhere to a time-honored democratic system and have a deep respect for cultural and spiritual traditions. | Harry Belafonte organizes 'The Gathering' June 2006 |
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| CG: But you are still hopeful that you can be effective? HB: Exactly. [His eyes brighten, and he stabs the air with his finger for emphasis.] In the end, I believe the world can be trusted [laughs]. |
a great interview with Colin Greer March 2006 |
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The Gathering's official web page: |
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The gathering is bigger than the small issues that face each of us d
aily. You have to see beyond the fight you’re in,
Harry Belafonte organizes 'The Gathering' - July, 2006
The Gathering of the Elders in Atlanta. 200 national leaders representing the wisdom of historyand declaring their commitment and support to the objectives of the mission.