Feb. 2, 2009 – Virgin Islands Prison Project will celebrate Black History Month by presenting "Up the Ridge," a screening of a documentary about the stateside facility that the V.I. government is paying to house its prisoners. It will be shown at 5:30 p.m., on Sunday, Feb. 8, at the Julius E. Sprauve School auditorium, Cruz Bay, St. John. Admission is free.
The one-hour documentary concerns the Wallens Ridge State Prison, one of the Virginia facilities housing V.I. prisoners in the Appalachian Mountains region. It offers an in-depth look at the United States prison industry and the social impact of moving hundreds of thousands of minority offenders to distant rural outposts. "Up the Ridge" explores competing political agendas that align government policy with human rights violations, and political expediencies that bring communities into racial and cultural conflict with tragic consequences. Impact statements and an audience discussion will follow the screening.
For more information, contact Kim Lyons at viprisonproject@gmail.com or call 514-1422.
