[DP] 2 ideas for TCADP-BV

[Heather Gert]

Both ideas sound good to me.  I'm leaving by late May, though,
so I probably won't be much use.

By the way, what did y'all decide at the meeting about inviting Jeanette
again?

Heather


On Monday, April 7, 2003, at 08:53 AM, Rich Woodward wrote:

> Marie forwarded 2 ideas that TCADP-BV might be interested in
> pursuing.  The first is participating in protests at the Polunsky
> Unit to protest conditions on death row.  We did this last year.
>
> The second is a speaker from Kentucky who we might invite for a book
> signing.
>
> Please let me know if you think we should push either or both of
> these.
> Rich
> ---------------
> From: Nancy Bailey
> Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 22:34:03 -0800
> Subject: [TCADP-BOARD01] News: Protests at Polunsky
>
> Friends,
>
> Today was the first of 4 protests that will take place in front of
> Polunsky on Saturdays from 2 - 5 PM.  Our core group, many of whom
> traveled long distances, was joined by families waiting to visit some
> of some of the men inside.  All together we had 20 people holding
> signs with varying messages of protest of horrible conditions that
> exist for the prisoners inside.
>
> Many passers by waved, honked and gave us thumbs up signals.  A few
> stopped and asked questions.
>
> We were not bothered by anyone today.  The perimeter police drove
> down to the entrance, parked and watched us.  That was all.
>
> We are grateful for the participation that we had today.  However we
> hope for larger participation the next 3 Saturday afternoons.  Let us
> make a strong statement by sacrificing Saturday afternoons in April
> that citizens of Texas will not tolerate their prisons being
> institutions of cruelty and abuse.  If you need to bring a folding
> chair, go right ahead.  We need you.
>
> Nancy
> ----------------------------
>
> From: Bill Pelke
> Subject: Events: Book Signings
> To: ABOLISH at MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
>
> By Marie Hines
> Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 1:03 PM
> Subject: Kentucky Book Signings
>
>
> Dear Friends,
>
> I am writing in regard to Rachel King's recently published book,
> Don't Kill in Our Names. Some time ago, Rachel asked me if, once her
> book was published, I would be interested in having a book signing
> here in Kentucky. I readily agreed, and I did so for two reasons. One
> was to help promote Rachel's book and the other was to accomplish a
> goal that I have been working toward for some years, namely to make
> people aware of the presence of MVFR in Kentucky.
>
> This has been especially important since we have a very vocal group
> of victims in the state who favor the death penalty. I knew that the
> publicity related to the book signing would heighten the awareness of
> a Kentucky MVFR group. Subsequently, we scheduled two signings, in
> both Lexington and Louisville, for March 22 and 23, respectively.
>
> Rachel flew into Louisville on Saturday morning, March 22, and we
> immediately headed for Lexington where the first signing took place
> at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. The crowd was small, perhaps due to TV
> coverage of Kentucky basketball plus a beautiful day in Kentucky. The
> group was, however, enthusiastic and we felt encouraged by the
> response.
>
> The first signing over, we took to the road again. This was Rachel's
> first visit to Kentucky so, to enable her to see more of the state,
> we drove to Bardstown and spent the night at nearby Nazareth, the
> motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. This offered
> respite from our hectic pace, and Rachel later remarked that the
> visit to Nazareth was her favorite part of the trip.
>
> The following day we returned to Louisville for the second signing,
> this time at Hawley-Cooke Booksellers. The crowd here was somewhat
> larger and also very receptive. Although the crowds at both book
> stores were relatively small, the total of 500 postcard invitations
> that we had sent out prior to the signings, as well as other
> advertisement of it, made people aware of Rachel's book. The signings
> over, Rachel and I left immediately for the airport and her flight
> back to Washington, DC.
>
> The evening after Rachel's departure, I attended a regularly
> scheduled board meeting of the Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the
> Death Penalty, and gave a report on the book signings, since KCADP
> had been a supporter in bringing Rachel to Kentucky. I also relayed
> to them a discussion that Rachel and I had regarding the need to
> promote the book. This was her first signing, with none scheduled for
> the future, and the only other promotion of the book had been through
> Bill Pelke, of the Journey of Hope, who had obtained books and was
> selling them. Rachel's concern was that, unless a certain number of
> books are sold, the publisher won't issue a paperback edition of the
> book nor will the original be reprinted.
>
> My comments at the meeting were followed by a discussion of other
> ways that we, as KCADP members, could further promote Don't Kill in
> Our Names. Because it is my hope, and certainly Rachel's, that other
> states would also promote her book, I would like to share some of our
> ideas for consideration by MVFR members in other states:
>
> 1. Invite Rachel to come to your state for a book signing.
>
> 2. If this isn't possible, purchase your own copy of the book.
>
> 3. Donate a book to a library or other place where there will be wide
> circulation of the
> book.
>
> 4. Request that your local library order the book. (I made such a
> request, that the
> book be purchased for my library branch, only to find out later that
> the library had
> ordered five books, for the main library and four of the branches.)
>
> 5. Publish an article about the book. (We had an article in the KCADP
> newsletter
> prior to the signing, and will have another in the next newsletter,
> reporting on the
> Kentucky signings.)
>
> 6. Have someone do a review of the book for the local newspaper.
>
> These are only a few suggestions and I'm sure that many of you can
> think of other ways to promote the book, especially keeping in mind
> that its promotion also promotes MVFR throughout the various states.
> Writing this book required from Rachel a lot of time and hard work. I
> believe it was, however, a labor of love and I believe that we can
> show our gratitude to Rachel by promoting Don't Kill in Our Names.
>
> Maria Hines
>
> P.S. If you have questions or want further information about the
> Kentucky book signings, please contact me at Mariahines.com
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> DP mailing list
> DP at philebus.tamu.edu
> http://philebus.tamu.edu/mailman/listinfo/dp
>
> ** DISCLAIMER **
> All views expressed in any message distributed via this list are those 
> of the sender, and are not officially endorsed in any way by Texas A&M 
> University.