The Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement is hosting an End the School to Prison Pipeline Conference this weekend. Registration is open for the virtual gathering.
Sachi Shastri is an administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator with the organization.
“We’ll be hosting multiple guests including our Executive Director, Mokah Jasmine Johnson, as well as other speakers, and we'll be discussing policies that kind of go into facilitating the school to prison pipeline situation, and then discussing ways in which we can advocate for policies that would get rid of the school to prison pipeline.”
Shastri says the conference will also address topics including discrepancies in the discipline in schools between Black and white students.
“Research shows that Black and white students have different rates of having expulsions and suspensions. White students will often be suspended or expelled for greater charges like drug possession or possession of a firearm on campus grounds, versus Black students often are suspended or expelled for things such as talking back or talking during class and it ends up harming our Black students disproportionately because of those policies.
The conference is Saturday, September 26th from 10:30 am until 3:30 pm. It will feature discussion, a movie, and presentations from guest speakers. Those interested in attending can visit the event’s Facebook page to register.
