BRIC TV to Host Town Hall 'Whose War on Drugs?'

BRIC TV, in partnership with The Marshall Project and the Drug Policy Alliance, will present Whose War on Drugs?, a live-broadcast #BHeard town hall discussion, Wednesday, May 23, 6:30-8:30pm, at BRIC House in Downtown Brooklyn. The event will bring together politicians, activists and Brooklyn's communities to truly challenge the idea behind America's longest-running war, asking: Who benefits from this war? How can we begin to reverse the collateral damage to our communities? And how do we bridge the gap between public health and the criminal justice system?

In the 1970's, President Nixon declared a "War On Drugs." Billions of dollars have since been spent, millions of people incarcerated, and nearly forty years later, we are still no closer to a solution. This so-called war disproportionately targets, prosecutes and incarcerates people of color. Here in New York, more than 80 percent of those arrested for marijuana are black or Latino, despite similar rates of use among white people, and today, the city is seeing a rise in opioid use and an alarming increase in drug overdoses.

#BHeard is BRIC TV's multiple Emmy Award winning town hall and docuseries that examines prescient social justice issues through a human lens.

WHAT: ?Whose War on Drugs?, a live-broadcast #BHeard town hall discussion

WHO: Presented by: BRIC TV, in partnership with The Marshall Project and the Drug Policy Alliance

Moderator: TBC

Featuring: Eric Gonzalez, Kings County District Attorney

Kassandra Frederique, New York State Director, Drug Policy Alliance
Dr. Hillary Kunins, Asst. Commissioner, Dept. of Health and Mental Hygiene
Tom Robbins, Contributing Writer, The Marshall Project
Chino Hardin, Field Coordinator, The Institute for Juvenile Justice Reform and Alternatives

WHEN: Wednesday, May 23, 6:30-8:30pm

WHERE: BRIC House, 647 Fulton Street, Downtown Brooklyn

ONLINE: Event page: BRICartsmedia.org/bheard
#BHeard: Join the conversation. Submit your questions on social media using #BHeard and they may be answered live during the broadcast.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram: @BRICTV

CONTACT: Ron Gaskill, Blake Zidell & Associates, 718.643.9052, ron@blakezidell.com

About BRIC

BRIC is the leading presenter of free cultural programming in Brooklyn, and one of the largest in New York City. The organization presents and incubates work by artists and media-makers that reflects the diversity of New York. BRIC programs reach hundreds of thousands of people each year.

BRIC's main venue, BRIC House, offers a public media center, a major contemporary art exhibition space, two performance spaces, a glass-walled TV studio and artist work spaces.

Some of BRIC's most acclaimed programs include the BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival in Prospect Park; groundbreaking media initiatives, including BRIC TV, BRIC Radio, and Brooklyn Free Speech; and renowned contemporary art exhibitions. BRIC also offers education and community-building programs at BRIC House and throughout Brooklyn.

In addition to making cultural programming genuinely accessible, BRIC is dedicated to providing substantial support to artists and media makers in their efforts to develop work and reach new audiences. BRIC is unusual in both presenting exceptional cultural experiences and nurturing individual expression. This dual commitment enables BRIC to most effectively reflect New York City's innate cultural richness and diversity.

Learn more at BRICartsmedia.org.

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