Sparking Justice from a Studio Backlot

January 31, 2020

Tough and important things happen at Raben all the time; we are organized to make a difference for the issues and communities we care about, and our clients take on complicated stuff. We help pass laws, change minds, and inspire; shifting power through supporting clients who want to make something happen.

Recently, however, was a standout. I was facilitating a session on a backlot of Warner Bros, a session meant to set strategy for the largest social justice campaign around a film in recent memory, if ever, and we were going around the table with introductions: the Catholic Mobilizing Network, prison abolition leaders, Van Jones, and studio executives.

And then this:  “I’m Herman Lindsey, I’m the 23rd person exonerated from Florida’s death row.”

A conversation stopper.

Each piece of it. That Florida is so blemished, and what that says about us. That Florida is not alone among the 50 United States. That for Mr. Linsday this has become the lede in his identity. That there’s an infrastructure in place to rail against this absurd system. Where are the first 22? How high is the number of exonerated now? And … how many of the innocent are already dead?

The group was there to help craft the strategy and tactics behind the REPRESENT JUSTICE campaign — an effort to tie a feature film, Just Mercy, to narrative, cultural, and public policy change. For the film’s release, REPRESENT JUSTICE drove conference appearances, special screenings of Just Mercy for elected officials, and impressive programs such as “Play for Justice” with the NBA to bring influencers and electeds inside facilities for pick up basketball games with residents on the inside. More than awareness of the tremendous damage that mass incarceration causes, it connects individuals to meaningful actions to catalyze long term change. 

Just Mercy is in theaters now, go see it.  

Our campaign came about because Scott Budnick, the brilliant mind behind the film, served with me on President Obama’s My Brothers’ Keeper Board, and we both saw the fusion of art and policy. He asked Raben to help him construct this campaign, and we did — more than either of us thought practical.  

Corporate and nonprofit colleagues have been supportive of REPRESENT JUSTICE’s goals, and they’ve put their money and relationships behind its mission. Our teams led a year of convenings and cultivation of leaders, organizations, and media to leverage the cultural moment of the release of this film to criminal justice reform. And more importantly, to harness the attention of it to increase capacity among the courageous organizations leading reform work day in and day out.

REPRESENT JUSTICE has also been on the ground working with other organizations to advocate for system-impacted individuals. It has also focused on events — an exhibit showcasing art from formerly incarcerated and a concert by Common at the California Rehabilitation Center — that seek to give voice and dignity to those who aren’t generally afforded much of either. 

It’s been exciting to see leaders from Hollywood come together with activists to help drive such a powerful force for change. It’s been humbling.

Stories that rest on transformative narrative — building empathy and encouraging you to do something — must be supported. In an age where the assault on facts is relentless, those of us who care about public policy must invest in storytelling, in any medium, to connect with and move people.  

We are far from done but know we are at the forefront of a new vision in how others will view the fusion of art and policy. Ideally, this campaign will inspire other content creators to look more seriously at how art can drive policy.

It’s not just interesting. It’s imperative.

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December 5, 2019

During the recent Intelligence Committee hearings, you may have seen a ubiquitous, intense, top staffer, sitting to the right and behind Chairman Adam Schiff’s shoulder, holding down the fort.

It’s the kind of job where you sit all day absorbing and monitoring and supporting, and spend all night preparing for the next day. Some years ago this top staffer was an excellent intern at The Raben Group, who went on to the National Security Council and now the Intelligence Committee. I’m proud of him — his career, his values, and what he’s doing. 

Twenty years ago at the last impeachment, I was one of those staffers. 

Counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, with a team of similarly intense men and women, the political nation’s fate at our fingertips, we labored then to defend, not prosecute, a president whose behavior was out of line. Way out of line. I was on the opposite side of Chairman Henry Hyde and Lindsey Graham’s prosecutorial fury, and we fought. Hyde later testified favorably at my Senate confirmation hearing to become Assistant Attorney General. But boy did we fight.   

I’ve seen, and learned, a lot in 20 years.

One, while it’s harder, no doubt because comity is less and less rewarded and sometimes even punished, I continue to operate under the fact that you can disagree, even vehemently, with people, and still see and act on their humanity. It’s an important goal, if not for your own sanity, then for the reciprocity, it sometimes generates. Fight your fight, make your case, even impugn their motives if you must, but do so without demonizing the other side. It’s unhealthy, and separately it’s lousy strategy. Ultimately you have to not just impassion your base, but persuade people who think they don’t agree with you. In order to do that, you have to speak to them in ways they will hear.

Two, step away from your echo chamber. We have many packed districts and identified base voters. That’s a key, but not whole, part of your story. Impeachment is a national effort, a national responsibility. Whether you think it’s a witch-hunt or a just reward for a nationalist, try to take the longer view. How a member votes on this is likely to make her/his obituary. Think ahead; make sure you’re certain how you’d like your grandchildren to read about you.

Three, facts matter, to the people to whom they still matter.  But to everyone else, not so much.

My sense is that facts have already run their course here; those who rely on them are sold one way or the other. The rest of Americans are dealing in impressions and totems and feelings; I don’t quibble with that, I spend time trying to figure out how to connect with people on their terms.

The last two nights Tucker Carlson on FOX has run a piece about an investment company that apparently orchestrated the takeover of a profitable Nebraska sports manufacturing company, pushed a merger, which resulted in the closing of the factory, for yet more profits. 2,000 jobs lost in a town of slightly more than 6,000 people. Turn down the volume and read the words and it is Senator Warren and Sanders’ script, about a rigged system where the very wealthy profit off the misery of the working class.  

We have different policy prescriptions to deal with the problems, but the right and left agree on so much. I’m committed to focusing on that and figuring out ways to make policy reflect this fact.  

 

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With liberty and justice for all …

(October 17, 2019, by Katharine Huffman)

We’ve heard a lot lately about bipartisan support for criminal justice reform. But criminal justice reform isn’t a static movement, and it can no longer be confined to shortened sentences or new rehabilitation programs; it’s evolving constantly, and it’s time for our political leaders and candidates to catch up with the times. 

Real and lasting progress toward justice requires us to address equity, power, and historical wrongs. The personal experiences of people affected by the current system, our understanding of what neighborhoods and cities really want to be safe, and a growing body of research, are all pointing us in a creative and vibrant new direction.

For most of the last 50 years, justice reform was on the defensive, trying to stem the tide as incarceration rose to unprecedented levels, resources poured into militarized and intrusive enforcement mechanisms, and millions of lives were damaged — many even destroyed — under the brutal weight of a broken and unjust “justice” system.

In more recent years, however, we’ve seen that start to change. There’s a growing consensus that our criminal justice system is too large, too costly in dollars and lives, and too far away from anything remotely approaching the values that should guide it. Voices of all political stripes are now part of this mainstream reform conversation. Political analysis used to consider justice reform too risky to even talk about, much less act upon; but now the same analysis increasingly requires us to question the status quo, recognize its dangers, and look for new solutions.

Many efforts to transform justice are underway. These efforts are often led by the people most directly impacted by the current system. And increasingly, they engage not only police officers and judges, but also emergency room physicians, librarians, artists, teachers, local chambers of commerce, and community organizers.

Building on all of this, we can start to reimagine the possibilities. Realizing we can’t create public safety and thriving neighborhoods without going far outside the justice system. Asking who else needs to be at the table. And understanding that taking on our nation’s history of racial and economic inequity is the only hope for a nation in which “liberty and justice for all” rings true. 

Raben is proud to support the work of one of these efforts to reimagine justice in an entirely new way. The Square One Project, based at the Columbia University Justice Lab, is a multi-year reexamination of the foundations of justice policy in this country. Designed to generate new ideas, the Project seeks to identify ways of expanding opportunity, improving true public safety in local communities, and reducing reliance on punishment as a response to social problems that are so often rooted in poverty, violence, and racial discrimination. 

I’m honored to serve as the executive director for Square One, and other Raben team members support the Project’s communications work. In fact, this project is emblematic of a core mission of Raben — to make lasting change through clear strategy, creative tactics, and innovation in policy and communications. We are proud to help lead organizations such as Square One.

As Square One explores new ideas and possibilities together, we invite you to consider what you imagine for the achievement of justice and safety in this country. Join us in our efforts to push the nation’s leaders (including candidates!) on issues critical to achieving equality and justice for all. 

Katharine Huffman is a founding principal at Raben, with extensive experience on criminal justice and civil rights issues. Her current and past clients include Voters Organized To Educate, The Innocence Project, The Marshall Project, Vera Institute of Justice, and others.

The Square One Project is supported by the MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, Arnold Ventures, the Joyce Foundation, Galaxy Gives, and other contributors.

Corporate America as a moral compass?

(September 17, 2019)

How does your organization show, not just tell, what it really values? What are the ways, large and small, that you truly lead?

Walmart, reeling in the aftermath of two deadly shootings in their stores this summer that massacred colleagues, customers, and friends, joined cause with advocates to determine changes to the retailer’s gun policies. Walmart announced it would stop selling all handguns and several types of ammunition, and it was now “respectfully requesting” that its customers not openly carry firearms in its stores. The nation’s largest retailer was followed within hours by Kroger, the country’s largest grocery chain, as well as CVS, Walgreens, and Wegmans, in asking customers to refrain from openly carrying on their premises. 

In a viral video this past weekend, a customer shopping in a Walmart openly carried a firearm. After he refused requests to conceal his weapon, the store called the police to remove the man and banned him from their stores nationwide for failing to comply. The man requested to purchase his items before leaving. The store said no. Walmart showed it was serious about its open-carry ban and that it would prioritize safety over profit.

And it’s not just on guns. At a time when the administration has sought to impose harsh restrictions on millions of low-income families receiving federal housing assistance, private businesses are stepping up here, too. Prudential has become a big backer of affordable housing in “low-opportunity communities,” committing $5.6 billion so far in more than 30 cities through its impact investing programs. Its investments have sparked positive social change in communities through transformative infrastructure, organizational partnerships and talent development.

There’s more. The nation’s largest businesses coming out in support of “Dreamers” … large banking institutions divesting from private prisons … investors speaking out in support of the Paris Agreement …

The business community has historically hidden behind margins and shareholder value to avoid taking a stand on the most difficult social and policy issues we’ve grappled with as a nation. 

But clearly, not taking a stand is its own values statement. 

Something is changing, and we are a part of it—social media, increasing employee engagement and voice, and more and more interest, if not vulnerability, to brand value—are all coming together to give the Left more and more tools to work with corporate America for change.   

I have long believed in the enormous power of the private sector to be a force for good in this country. It may not always happen as linearly as advocates might want to see. But I thank God it’s happening. We should welcome the policy engagement of corporate executives — who whether by their own morality, shareholder accountability, employee action, or social pressure — now feel compelled to act, and we should be prepared to push them further in the name of progress.

Adelante,
Robert

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Wondering why Republicans continually win the battle to control the nation’s courts? It’s because Republicans play politics on judges, Democrats don’t.