FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Arts/Features Editor

December 26, 2012

CONTACT

Andrew Lee, Managing Director

Tel.: 201-836-3499

Fax: 201-836-1734

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Puffin Cultural Hosts Book Discussion on Michelle Alexander’s “The New Jim Crow”

Teaneck, NJ, Thursday, January 17–In her book, “The New Jim Crow,” legal scholar and writer Michelle Alexander spotlights America’s mass incarceration of African-American men and presents her argument that “we have not ended racial caste in America: we have merely redesigned it.” The Puffin Cultural Forum hosts a presentation and discussion of the book led off by Clinton Lacey, Teaneck resident and Deputy Commissioner of the NYS Department of Probation. Dr. Phyllis Harrison-Ross, Commissioner of the NYS Commission of Correction and Theodora Smiley Lacey, Teaneck leader and Civil Rights Activist will also speak. Dr. Joseph Chuman, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and head of the local Ethical Culture Society, will lead a panel discussion followed by an audience Q&A. $5.00 suggested donation. Reservations recommended; must be made before 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday prior to the performance: . Thursday, January 17, 7:00 p.m. The Puffin Cultural Forum is at 20 Puffin Way (off Teaneck Rd.) in Teaneck. Call 201-836-3499 or visit

CLINTON LACEY has worked in the field of juvenile and criminal justice for over 20 years. He has served as the Associate Executive Director of Friends of Island Academy, developing and managing services for 16 to 24 year olds involved in the juvenile and criminal justice systems of New York City. Clinton also served as the Director of the Youth Justice Program at Vera Institute of Justice where he oversaw technical assistance projects focused on reform of New York State’s reform policies. Currently, he is the Deputy Commissioner of the NYS Department of Probation. An experienced trainer, facilitator and keynote speaker on issues ranging from racial disparity, transitional discharge planning, gang intervention strategies to overall youth and human development, Clinton has a B.A. in Latin American and Caribbean History from Herbert H. Lehman College and is a graduate of the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management at Columbia University.

DR. PHYLLIS ROSS is a psychiatrist by profession whose dynamic career has included positions as a hospital clinical administrator, researcher, public health consultant, forensic and child psychiatrist, academician, and public educator. She has received presidential appointment to the President’s Advisory Council on Drug Abuse Prevention where she helped set national policy. A recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Ross is a Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and former president of the Black Psychiatrists of America. Some of Dr. Ross’ current responsibilities include President of the All Healers Mental Health Alliance, Member of the New York Society for Ethical Culture Social Service Board, and Founder and

Managing Partner of the Black Psychiatrist of Greater New York and Associates. Dr. Ross has also been a member of the Medical Review Board of the NYS Commission of Corrections since 1976 and currently serves as its Chair.

THEODORA SMILEY LACEY grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, at a time when

African-Americans were systematically denied rights and opportunities for education,

personal liberty and civic justice. She was twenty-one years old when Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr. was called to minister at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, where her father, Dr.

Clarence Theodore Smiley was president of the board. A year later, Theodora’s friend

Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on the Montgomery bus to

a white passenger. During the subsequent Montgomery Bus Boycott, Theodora was

involved as an assistant typing press releases and announcements and supporting the

organizers. Through her involvement in the Montgomery Bus Boycott she met and

eventually married Alabama State University Professor Archie Lacey, a strategist for

the boycott. When she moved to Teaneck in 1961, Theodora Smiley Lacey continued to

champion racial equality, social justice and community values. She raised four children

while working as a teacher in the Teaneck public schools and has provided leadership to

the Black Education Alliance, Parent Teacher Association, the Town Advisory Board,

Teacher’s Association, and to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee.

Currently, she is a Trustee of the Central Unitarian Church in Paramus, NJ.

DR. JOSEPH CHUMAN, in addition to working at the Ethical Culture Society, Dr. Chuman has been adjunct professor at Columbia University teaching human rights at the graduate school and has taught at the Honors College at Hunter, at Fairleigh Dickenson, and at the United Nations University for Peace in Costa Rica. He has published articles in the Record of Bergen County, NJ and in The New York Times, The Humanist, Free Inquiry, and Humanistic Judaism, as well as articles on Ethical Culture and religion in several encyclopedias. Dr. Chuman has worked actively on behalf of human rights and civil liberties, and in opposition to the death penalty; he recently initiated a sanctuary program for asylum seekers detained at the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey.

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The Puffin Cultural Forum is a project of the Puffin Foundation, Ltd. which, through the arts, encourages dialog about issues important to the community. The Puffin Foundation, Ltd. underwrites this and all other Puffin Cultural Forum events and programs in order to make it possible for everyone to attend.

NOTE TO PRESS AND PHOTO EDITORS: This release and high resolution JPEGs can be downloaded at

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