WWU to host 'Tangled Webs' conference on race, poverty and prisons Jan. 17-18

The Center for Law, Diversity and Justice at Western Washington University’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies will host a regional conference, “Tangled Webs: Race, Immigration, Poverty, and Prisons; Mass Incarceration and Alternative Futures” on Jan. 17 and 18 on Western’s campus.

“Tangled Webs” will bring together students, teachers, researchers, activists, lawyers, and other concerned community members to examine the historical origins and social impacts of mass incarceration in this country, and to start a dialogue about existing and possible alternatives to this system.

The keynote speaker for the conference is Michelle Alexander, civil right activist, law professor and best-selling author of “The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Color-Blindness.” Alexander will deliver the keynote at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 17 in the PAC. The keynote address is free and open to the public, but no-cost tickets must be reserved through the WWU Performing Arts Center Box Office by calling (360) 650-6146; a limited number of tickets are also available at Village Books in Fairhaven.

To provide overflow seating, the keynote address will also be simulcast to SMATE lecture halls 120 and 150 (no tickets are required to enter the lecture halls). For more information on the “Tangled Webs” conference, contact Helling at (360) 650-4907.