Introducing the Represent Justice Speakers Bureau
Since the inception of Represent Justice, the power of system-impacted storytelling has been our north star – whether through films made by our Ambassadors that help reshape their communities, or impact campaigns for films like Kemba, which urgently highlights the need for federal clemency actions to be taken by the Biden Administration and sentencing reform across the country. And today, we’re turning up the volume on their voices to meet this moment.
I’m humbled and excited to announce the launch of the Represent Justice Speakers Bureau. Through this new program, we will continue to uplift the extraordinary ecosystem of system-impacted movement leaders, artists, campaign leaders, filmmakers, and film participants who work day in and day out with us to transform the legal system.
Aligned with our mission, the Bureau will connect our storytellers to new audiences while growing their visibility and influence to ensure they are included and heard in conversations about the harmful system that has directly impacted their lives. It will also help support their livelihoods, center their lived experience and expertise, and create meaningful economic opportunities that allow them to self-define what “empowerment” really means to their communities.
Lastly, building upon trauma-informed lessons from our Ambassador program, the Represent Justice Speakers Bureau will be a full-service bureau that provides mental health support and other training opportunities, in addition to traditional services.
Over the next few years, the need for real stories, and expertise rooted in experience, will be essential in battling the normalization of harmful narratives about our communities. Now is the time to organize and further grow a critical mass of authentic, effective storytellers who can call on their lived experiences to share stories that can change the way people understand, and interact with, the legal system.
If you encounter people, spaces and institutions that are entrenched in old, disconnected and stigmatizing ways of thinking about safety and our legal system, help us reach those spaces by sharing information about the Represent Justice Speakers Bureau.
In solidarity,
Daniel Forkkio
CEO