FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Phyllis Tucker-Saunders
Intern, Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church
c/o Dr. Alice Ogden Bellis
201 Fourth St. SE
Washington, DC
240-475-0481
[email protected]
Capitol Hill, Washington DC September 5, 2016 – Today, there are more African American men
in jails, prisons, on parole or on probation than were enslaved in 1850. How did Blacks come
from slavery which ended in 1865 to find themselves still being enslaved for all intents and
purposes in 2016? The public is invited to join academic experts and clergy at this informative
town hall to gather insight on how this happened & who, if anyone, is trying to stop it.
Phyllis Tucker-Saunders, a graduate student at Wesley Theological Seminary, and an intern at
Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, is serving as the moderator. Her interest in this topic was
sparked while doing research when she came across the words “prison” and “new plantation”
used in the same sentence. Since then, her focus has been to understand what it means when
people say “Blacks are still on the plantation.” Teaming up with Dr. Harold Dean Trulear,
Professor of Practical Theology at Howard University School of Divinity and National Dir. of
Healing Communities USA, and the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, Ms. Tucker-Saunders
believes the public should know the historical details of how African Americans came from
chattel slavery through Jim Crow and Civil Rights to be back on the plantation. Together, they
will present this incredible voyage in a town hall discussion - “Prisons – The New Plantation.”
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the comprehensive, historical truth that rings too real as a
panel of experts explore the devastating effects laws, politicians, institutional racism, and selfdestruction have had on undermining a society that imprisons more people than any civilized
country in the world; a society who uses the power and backing of the government to enslave
people in the twentieth century, a society that, under the guise of a prison system, continues to
enrich itself on the backs of America’s disadvantaged groups. This is “our America.”
Public Town Hall Meeting, “Prisons – The New Plantation,” Saturday, November 5, 2016, 2–4
pm, Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, 201 Fourth St. SE, Washington, DC. For more
information, call Dr. Alice Bellis, 202-549-9368 or visit http://www.capitolhillpreschurch.org/
Submitted by:
Phyllis Tucker-Saunders
Intern, Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church
Graduate Student, Wesley Theological Seminary
240-475-0481
[email protected]