Santa Cruz-Statewide Coordinated Actions To End Solitary Confinement - Readers’ Theater: Statement of plaintiffs on settlement of Ashker v. Governor of California (August 31, 2015). Photo credit: Alina Hammer.
T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights invited people to dedicate their fast for Yom Kippur (which was on Sept. 23rd) to people in solitary and to educate themselves. Here's an excerpt from the action alert that T'ruah sent to their members: "On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read about the prophet Jonah, who as punishment for fleeing from God spends three days alone, trapped in the belly of a whale. Devoid of human contact only briefly, Jonah suffers tremendously. He calls out to God to free him from his captivity--his pride is not worth the torture he is enduring. Unfortunately, for many people in America, being alone--continuously--is a daily reality. More than 80,000 incarcerated persons in solitary confinement are alone for 23 hours a day."
The cast of If the SHU Fits at a recent reading. Photo by Bobby Buck. (Via ifthushufits.net)
St. John's UMC in Los Angeles, CA hosted the play "If the SHU Fits". Communities are invited to take the reader's theatre performance script and adapt it for their location. More information at iftheshufits.net.